Tom Heaton is delighted to be back with Manchester United.
The goalkeeper has joined United on a two-year contract from Aston Villa.
Asked if he felt like he was returning home, Heaton told manutd.com: "Yes it does. That's exactly how it feels. For me to have the opportunity to come back here after spending 13 great years here as a kid, yeah it's an incredible feeling and I'm really, really excited to get started."
On leaving United in 2010, he continued: “Yeah, it feels like the right decision. I knew at the time it felt right but it wasn't easy. I'd been part of the club for so long and how much care I had for the football club. It was the right decision looking back and it's justified it coming back here now with a lot more different experiences, a lot more security – what I'm about and my goalkeeping ability, having practical experience. So, yeah, I look back at it as the right time even though, at the time, it wasn't the easiest one."
Asked about the support of former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, he added: “It's been brilliant. At the time, as a young lad who has been here for so long and having such a good relationship with him, and the time and effort the football club had given me, I could understand his frustration, I think. But he accepted it. I said many times, I was back in his office in a couple of weeks and he said he would always be there for me – and he has been. I've come across him a few times since. As ever, you always stand up a little bit taller when you come across him. It's been fantastic to have that blessing, if you like, after I'd gone and it felt vindicated."
On his ambitions, Heaton concluded: "I'm looking forward to come in to compete. My ambition is to get into the side. That's never been any different. I left the football club to go in search of first-team football, to go and get that experience. I'm coming back here now with a lot more experience. It's been 11 years, I think, since I left. It feels like a long time but I've gathered different things since I've gone and have come back here now looking to get into the side.
"I can't put it any other way. I'll do things properly, of course, and we've got some fantastic keepers at the club – David [De Gea], Dean [Henderson], Lee [Grant], Nathan [Bishop] and a host of good young keepers. I can't wait to get started with that group and get going. Yeah, it's certainly what I've got my eyes on and we'll see how it goes."
