Leeds United loan star Pablo Hernandez is of the opinion that he is close to being back to his best after scoring in Saturday's 2-0 victory away to Cardiff City.
The 31-year-old, who is on loan at Elland Road from Qatari club Al-Arabi until January with a view to a permanent transfer, returned to the starting lineup last Tuesday in his favoured attacking midfield role, and he has said that he's feeling the benefits of playing a key role in the last two games.
"I’ve felt good on the pitch in the last two games,” the Spaniard remarked.
"My first games here were difficult because I didn’t play any games in pre-season and hadn’t trained a lot in Qatar.
"But I think these last two games have been very important for me. I played 90 minutes against Blackburn last week and played most of the game on Saturday, too. That is good for me.
"I’m very happy that I was able to help the team win the game on Saturday.
"It’s good for my confidence when I score but, more importantly, it helped the team get the three points.
"It’s very important for us to win two games in a row because we didn’t start the season too good. Now, with these two wins, I think the team can keep going with confidence.”
Along with head coach Garry Monk and Saturday's stand-in captain Kyle Bartley, Hernandez’s previous time with Swansea City meant Saturday’s trip to the Welsh capital came with a little added spice for the ex-Swans within the United camp, but the 31-year-old insists securing the result for his new club was the sole thing on his mind.
"I played for Swansea for two years and, during my last year, Cardiff were also in the Premier League,” he explained.
"The derby is an important game for both supporters but I didn’t think about that on the pitch on Saturday. The only thing I wanted to do was to win the game for my team now, which is Leeds.
"That was the most important thing for me. I’m very happy that we won the game and that I scored.”
When quizzed regarding his future, with United having the option of making his loan deal permanent later in the season (January), Hernandez added: "I don’t think about that — I only think in the present and about the next game.
"But I’m very happy here in Leeds and, more importantly for me, we’re starting to play well on the pitch because there’s confidence here.
"The most important thing for me is to play well and continue winning games. Then the time will come to speak to the club about my future.”