We’ve only trained together as a full squad at Manchester United in the past week because of the World Cup, but that is the case for other Premier League teams as well.

At Manchester United we are used to it; we’ve always had players from England, France and other major footballing nations. Generally everyone is fit, the only concern is Rio Ferdinand, so we’re in pretty decent shape; other clubs probably have more problems.

The international friendlies next week mean we will lose a few players again for a couple of days, but I don’t really understand why people are saying these friendlies are an annoyance. There have been friendly internationals in August going back as far as I can remember, so I don’t know why people are all of a sudden complaining in 2010.

We have some players who were involved in poor World Cup campaigns, but I’m not expecting them to be suffering from World Cup hangovers. A build-up to a World Cup is emotionally and physically draining, as is the tournament itself. But a poor World Cup doesn’t necessarily mean players will struggle for their clubs. It can work both ways; players who have won it can also find it difficult getting back into the rhythm after the biggest moment of their lives.

Our players from France, England, Serbia and South Korea went out of the tournament at the group stage or in the second phase. An early exit can make them more determined to get back onto the pitch and put things right.

The World Cup in South Africa was not the first major tournament our players have played in. We have enough experience to know that we can’t afford to start the season slowly. We have to forget about our national teams, forget about what happened in the World Cup and get on with playing for our club for the time being.

Looking to the future, I’ve not seen much of our new signings Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez because I didn’t go on tour, but they seem to be settling in well. They are both young players who will be very hungry to do well. Smalling scored a goal in pre-season and Hernandez has scored a few goals, so you have to say they have made a little bit of an impact already.

The real test obviously is when the season starts. Pre-season games are all about fitness and preparation; now it’s about making sure we get results in the matches that matter, starting against Newcastle United a week tomorrow.

The manager has said he is happy with the squad and so am I. We have a lot of young players and the manager has always put great faith in youth. They have bags of ability, and now we will now found out if they can sustain a Premier League season. The manager’s faith is the biggest compliment they can receive, because he has got it right so many times before with young players.

There are no real surprises among our young players; they are the same lads who were around last year. Tom Cleverly is probably the one player who has recently come to the fore, but he is not unknown over here because he did very well at Watford on loan last season and he did well for us in pre-season. He’s an intelligent player with great ability.

Community Shield

The Community Shield is the best pre-season game you can get, so we are looking forward to today’s clash with Chelsea. It’s not the most important trophy in the world, but it’s nice to pick up a trophy at Wembley.

To play at Wembley is a great experience in itself and the lads today will definitely be focused on winning the match. Although victory today is not the be all and end all, nobody wants to lose at Wembley.

In terms of preparation for a new season, playing a meaningful match today in front of the television cameras and a big crowd is as good as it gets, and there will be a level of competitiveness that is impossible to replicate in other pre-season games.

Having said that, I don’t believe the result of the Community Shield has an impact on the outcome of the season. I say that because in the 1998 Shield we were beaten 3-0 by Arsenal, and we went on to win the treble that season. That shows that the outcome of the Community Shield does not have any effect on momentum going into the new season. You don’t peak in August to win the Premier League; the months of March, April and May are when it matters, although you have to keep yourself in contention throughout.

Players on both teams today will be at varying fitness levels; we have players who have only had one week’s pre-season training so they won’t be at their peak. So whatever happens today, I wouldn’t read too much into the result. If we win I wouldn’t say we are favourites to win the Premier League and if we lose I wouldn’t say Chelsea are favourites.

Getting into shape

Personally, my pre-season preparations could have been better. I injured my calf two days into pre-season, which is not ideal. I had worked for three or four weeks before reporting back, but then I felt something in my calf which set me back a couple of weeks and made me miss the pre-season tour to the US.

I’ve recovered now and I’ve been training for the past few days. The main thing is that come a week tomorrow when we start the Premier League season against Newcastle, I’ll have had a few weeks of training and I’ll be in the pool of players who will be ready for selection.

I’m hoping to contribute this season. I realise the days when I could hope to play 45 to 50 games are gone; if you look at the last two seasons I’ve played 25 to 30 games. Quite a few older players have played about the same amount.

In a sense I have become a squad player because I’m not one of the four or five players at the core of the team who play 50 to 60 matches a season. That is something I’ve had to accept.

My injury in 2007 meant I was out of the game for 12 to 15 months. When I came back things had moved on a little bit. With the injury and the fact that my body has changed, my main aim is to stay as fit as possible to play those 25 to 30 matches that hopefully the manager will need me in.

Send your questions to Gary Neville to sunday@timesofmalta.com.