Manchester United Talisman: I Don't Want a Rest

Robin van Persie feels he should not be rested for Manchester United's FA Cup fifth round match against Reading on Monday 18 February.

Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to give several first team players a breather after their intense Champions League clash against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in midweek. Van Perise played the full 90 minutes of that game and also last weekend's league match against Everton. However, the striker stated that he would prefer to keep playing as he feels lack of game time could affect his form.

"I'm used to playing games every few days. I like it because I get into a rhythm. When you don't play for more than a week, it can take you 10-15 minutes to start because you're missing that rhythm. I prefer to keep going, to keep playing game after game," van Persie told the Daily Mail.

The Dutchman, who moved to United from Arsenal last summer, is enjoying a terrific first season at Old Trafford, with 23 goals and seven assists to his name from 32 appearances.

"I love the buzz, drama and excitement of the big games like Real Madrid. But I know that the smaller games are very important, too - they're the ones that make you champions. The way this season is going, it feels like it could be very special. And when you're at United every game is a big game," the 29-year-old added.

However, Ferguson has hinted that he is planning to rotate his squad against Reading and also revealed that some of the Red Devils stars were disappointed to miss out on the Madrid game.

Nemanja Vidic, Tom Cleverley, Chicharito, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young and Anders Lindegaard were some of the players who did not feature against Los Blancos, and most of them are expected to start against the Royals.

"You have to keep all the players contributing and involved, which isn't easy because there were a lot of disappointed players on Wednesday," the Scot said.