Louis Saha is relishing being involved in United's last five games and says he has been boosted by the faith Sir Alex Ferguson has shown in him.

Saha has started three of the Reds' festive fixtures, scoring twice. In fact, he took part in six of United's seven matches in December and has played both games since the turn of the year.

"It was great to be back in the side and so heavily involved over Christmas," he told United Review. "As a player you want to play every minute and I'm no different. I was very happy to be on the pitch and I enjoyed myself a lot."

For Saha it was a boost to his confidence to be so heavily involved, especially at a time when players are linked with a move either to or from Old Trafford.

"At this time of the year there are always rumours linking players with moves to and from United," he said. "But personally I don’t take any notice of it. The manager’s always shown a lot of faith in me and that’s a really nice feeling and gives me a lot of confidence."

Saha will hope to be involved at Old Trafford on Saturday against Newcastle, a club he spent five months with on loan from Metz in 1999. The 29-year-old says the Reds have plenty to be wary of on Saturday, especially as the Magpies players will look for a positive result after the departure of Sam Allardyce.

"Alan Smith left United at the end of last season and he’ll be a real handful," added Saha. "So many times in the past players return to their former club and score. Obafemi Martins and Mark Viduka are also ones to watch. All the strikers at Newcastle have the ability to change a game. We’ll have to be careful, but I think with Rio and Vidic at the back we’ll be okay."