The Big Interview: Bailly plans to win the title

How do you assess the campaign so far from the dressing room’s perspective?
It’s very positive. With all the matches we’ve played, the fact that we’ve not lost one is very important for the mindset of the whole team. If we’ve begun our campaign well, then it augurs well for a good finish too. From a personal perspective it’s fine, but you can always do better. I am happy with my form. I hope to get even better because, with these opportunities, you must always try to improve.

What is the relationship like between you and Phil Jones?
It’s good, there’s a good relationship between Phil and me, and with the other two defenders, Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling, even though we’ve not had the chance to play together yet. It’s fine in my view because there are four of us defenders and everyone is ready to make the most of the opportunities the manager gives us. To defend as well as possible and concede less goals, that’s the aim for all of us.

With Marcos Rojo on the road back to fitness, will make competition for places in defence make us stronger than ever?
Of course, I think it’s very crucial. It’s very important too for us young players in order not to relax. We have to keep on working because at any given moment the others might see their chance and take it. It’s good competition, it creates a positive spirit and helps the team, that’s what we’re aiming for.

Nothing but wins in the league so far this season. 💥👊🏾 pic.twitter.com/f9r5lC14Kr

— Eric Bailly (@ericbailly24) August 26, 2017

You've previously admitted that you've improved your game since working with Jose Mourinho – what aspects do you think he has helped improve?
For me, the aspect that was very important and where I see improvements – and can improve even more, to be honest – is the tactics, as well as the high level of concentration that’s required. For a young defender it’s very important and with this manager I’m positive about the future.

The manager has made several changes to the team lately. How important is it to have a strong squad?
It’s very important for us, it’s important for the team, it’s important for the manager, and when it’s like that, there is also competition amongst ourselves, so we always have to improve because I don’t think anyone is automatically entitled to their position in that team. As I’ve said, you have to take advantage of every opportunity the manager gives you.

You’ve already lifted two major honours here in England, so what are your targets this season?
[Smiling] A player’s target is always to win trophies, isn’t it?  Even though we don’t always go all the way, we still carry on working. I am full of dreams and I think that, thanks to God for all the work we will do, we will achieve those targets.

Do you think the experience of winning major honours last season can help the team in this year’s title race?
It’s not so much that it helps as that it motivates. Winning a trophy is very important and I think that, with the trophies we’ve won, it’s a huge motivation to win even more. It’s what we always have in mind: to have the desire, the aim to win several trophies because it’s a good thing for a player’s career. 

We've only conceded one Premier League goal in open play at Old Trafford in 2017, and no goals at home in the three league games this season – that must be a fact that the defence is proud of…
Of course. It’s the key point for all defenders, to see your goals against tally remain at zero. It’s key for me to keep the goals conceded at zero and I hope that the good work we’ve done at this start of the season will help us become champions.

We haven't lost at Old Trafford for over a year, so how confident does it make you and the team going into home games?  
I really feel very happy because you can see that we’re hard to beat at home, that we haven’t lost a match in fact. It gives us a lot of pleasure, gives us more confidence, and as I’ve said, it’s important for us, and also for the fans who come to support us. I hope that will continue because then we are more confident going into the away games, and that’s important for us too.

We're finishing games strongly – what does that say about the squad?
It shows promise because, compared with the team last year, it was more difficult then. Even though we had no bad performances, this year there’s something new that has improved, so we are happy about that. I hope that will continue because this year we can see a huge progression compared with last season. This year there is more desire, more success at everything we do. It’s important to see the team starting off well in top form, and I think that with the work we’ve done, and the work by the manager and the staff, we’ll continue the way we’ve begun and that will lead us to the Premier League title.

How important is David De Gea to the team?
It’s a good thing for us to have, in my opinion, the best defender, the best goalkeeper in the world. That gives us so much more confidence going into a match. David is very, very, very important for everything we do. The goalkeeper instills confidence not just in the defenders but in the whole team, so that’s why I think David is very important to the whole team.