By ESPNsoccernet staff
Manchester United striker Michael Owen believes he has "got a few years left in him" and said he hopes his brace against Leeds in Tuesday's Carling Cup victory will improve his chances of playing more regularly.
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Owen, 31, made just one Premier League start for United last season, with the form of Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Javier Hernandez keeping him out of the side.
And the former Liverpool forward, who has been plagued by injury problems in recent years, admits it has been dif ficult being made to watch games from the bench on a regular basis.
"I'm not content if I'm not playing," Owen said. "I get criticised a lot with things like 'you don't play, you pick your money up' and all the rest of it but I'm not proud of that fact. I want to play all the time."
In his debut season at Old Trafford, Owen managed 31 appearances in all competitions - scoring a derby winner against Manchester City, a Champions League hat-trick against Wolfsburg and a Carling Cup final goal against Aston Villa. And Owen is hoping for a return to that sort of form this time around.
"If the season was going to be like the first season I was here then I'd be delighted," Owen said. "That was fantastic and I felt involved. I was always either on the bench or playing.
"Obviously I want to be involved again but I appreciate that there's some top players in the team and in the squad and it's a challenge to get on the bench let alone into the first team."
Owen admitted he was nervous going into his first appearance of the season against Leeds and so was delighted to take the opportunity afforded him by Sir Alex Ferguson.
"The best players in the world can have a bad game and if I have a bad game tonight you can see the criticism before it even starts," Owen said.
"That negative thought is definitely in the back of your mind going into games because you can't put it right in three or four days' time like most other players that play all the time. The pressure's on and thankfully every time I have started I've managed to quieten those people before they chirp up.
"I believe I've got a few years left in me and I'd love it to be at Man United. For that to happen I've got to be involved because the manager wouldn't want me sitting round and I wouldn't want to sit round if I wasn't part of the squad or part of things.
"As we stand now we've been playing four or five weeks of the season. We've only had on e game a week so he hasn't rotated anyone really.
"You could count all the players out there today and not many of them have had much action so hopefully now the season is under way and we're playing twice a week the whole squad and not just me will get more of a chance."
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