Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea admits the fear of continually staying on the bench forced him to work harder to get back into the first team.
Sir Alex Ferguson chopped and changed between de Gea and Anders Lindegaard earlier in the season with the young Spaniard finally getting the nod after the Dane got injured.
de Gea is starting to show the form that United paid Atletico Madrid £18million for in the summer and suggests it was the fear of the Ferguson axe that helped him turn things around after a shaky start.
"That has helped me become much stronger and confident. I'm getting to my best level now.
"Any player should learn from his mistakes to improve every day and know his weaknesses.
"I've done things pretty good, I'm happy with my performance so far and I'm sure I'll go further.
"I'm young and I have only just come to a league and a country that is different from mine, so I shouldn't worry.
"Sir Alex just told me to adapt and continue as I am and the results will come.""No-one likes to go to the bench, but perhaps it helped me reconsider and realise that I had to keep fighting," he said.
