Ritchie de Laet insists moving on-loan to Norwich City is not the end of his Manchester United career.
The 22-year-old admits he is desperate to earn a place in the first-team at Old Trafford and hopes doing well for top-flight newcomers this year will aid his cause.
"I sat down with the coaches at United and they had been keeping tabs on me whilst I was away with Portsmouth," De Laet told skysports.com.
"They asked me how I felt the experience had gone for me down there and I believe that it was exactly what I needed at this stage of my career.
"Regular football at first-team level is invaluable and although it might not have been the best thing for me personally to play for three different clubs in one season, it worked out really well in the end.
"If I can gain some experience and play as many games as I can in the Premier League this season then I can go back there and give it a good go at getting in the first-team there.
"If all goes well for me here then it will be up to me to prove to the boss during pre-season that I am good enough to wear the shirt, but for now I just need to concentrate on doing well for Norwich.
"I've still got another year left on my contract after this season, so I've got until the summer of 2013 to prove myself at United.
"It is all in my own hands really because if I do well for Norwich this season it might trigger a new contract for me back at United, but if not I will still have the last year of my contract to show what I'm capable of there."
