Scott Wootton is hoping to capitalise on Manchester United's injury crisis and prove his worth as a first team player.

The Merseysider was originally on the books of Tranmere before moving to Liverpool's academy. But he hesitated over signing schoolboy forms at Anfield and took up the opportunity of a trial at old Trafford. "I wasn't too sure whether I was going to sign for Liverpool," the Evertonian continued. "United invited me down for a week's trial and said they wanted to sign straight after that. It was really good." He meteoric rise is illustrated by his ability to still watch the games almost unnoticed amongst the United fans - as he did last month when Sir Alex Ferguson's men won at Anfield. "I was never a Liverpool fan or anything like that, so I just went mad like everyone else when Robin van Persie scored," he added And the defender is determined to keep his feet on the ground. "You want to progress as a footballer and these are the next steps," he said. "Obviously there are some extra special things like the team talks, coming away with the first team and the fans, which are different from what you're are used to. "But you just try and concentrate on your football just the same. "And as everything is that extra step quicker, you've always got to concentrate; you can't switch off for one minute."