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Javier Hernandez has admitted he may have to leave Manchester United to start playing as regularly as he would like.

Hernandez has started just two of new United boss David Moyes' 11 games in charge, having fulfilled the role of impact player from the bench in three years under the now-retired Sir Alex Ferguson.

Although the Mexico forward said he remains happy at the Premier League champions, he hinted he may only achieve his aim of starting games on a regular basis if he moves to another club.

Hernandez, who was a target for Atletico Madrid in the summer, has scored just once this season and admitted his lack of regular starts was a concern for him as he assessed his future.

"I strive for that [to start more games]," said the 25-year-old, who scored 20 goals in his debut season at United following a £6m move from Chivas Guadalajara in his homeland in 2010.

"I am working towards that - earning a spot as a starter. I know that my performance on the pitch will allow me to achieve that goal someday either here [in Manchester] or elsewhere for any other club.

"I am going on four years here [at Manchester United] and really, like I have always said, I am happy to be able to play for one of the best clubs in the world, doing my best every single day to earn more minutes on the pitch.

"I just need to be given more opportunities to showcase what I can do, because all of us want to be able to contribute our part so this team can win championships."

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Hernandez admitted the competition was stiff, with Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney ahead of him in the pecking order, and Danny Welbeck also vying for a starting place.

But the man known as 'Chicharito' - Little Pea - said he had to view the situation as healthy for his development as a player, even if it did leave him frustrated at being consistently overlooked for the first XI.

"What better way to compete anywhere in the world than to compete with them?" said Hernandez. "The competition inside the team has always been really healthy and I think that helps the team a lot, because there are so many quality players that every one of them wants to earn a starting spot.

"The practices and matches coming up will force us to step up and help the team grow both at an individual and collective level."

In an interview with Mexican TV station Deportes Telemundo, Hernandez also revealed his pre-match ritual - in which he sinks to his knees on the pitch and prays - came about after he was nearly forced to quit football.

(Image: Getty)

"There was a time when I went through a very difficult time at Chivas, when I had really lost all faith in myself and started to seriously wonder whether this was the path God had set out for me, to play football," he explained.

"Everyone obviously knew I was the grandson of Don Tomas Balcazar and Javier 'El Chicharo' Hernandez's son, so I always felt a little obligated to be a football player.

"That was what many people believed I was destined to do and what I had in mind as well, even though I had dreamed of being a professional football player ever since I was little.

"Football has always been in my blood and I have always loved the sport, so all that sort of carried me towards becoming a football player. That time of my life was very complicated for me but, thank God, things turned out well.

"I was very patient and lucky to have my family and loved ones as my pillars of support to be strong, to believe in myself again, and that is when I decided to thank God for every match I start in.

"I was so close to not playing football anymore, but now you can see my career made a turn for the best. Life and football can be that way, so I do it [his pre-kickoff prayer] as a way to say thank-you."

Hernandez revealed his United team-mates call him 'Chica', with few people referring to him by his christian name.

"They call me a lot of things, but never Javier," he said. "I wasn't really even called that in Mexico, except by my family and some friends. I have always been 'Chicharo' or 'Chicharito' or also 'Chicha' here [in England], so yeah, I have been called many things.

"They never even called me by my name at school - it has always been the nickname I inherited from my father."