Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa has had a tough time since he joined the Red Devils last season from Borussia Dortmund under Sir Alex Ferguson.

This season, under David Moyes, he has largely played a peripheral role and has started in only seven league games thus far.

Kagawa’s situation is very complex at the moment. The 24-year-old is primarily a no 10, who loves to operate behind the strikers. But, at Manchester United, he has been deployed out wide mainly to accommodate Wayne Rooney. He has failed to exude enough confidence and has produced string of insipid displays when given chances.

“I still haven’t scored any goals this season so I’ve felt very irritated,” he told SkyPerfecTV. “This is the first time in my career that I haven’t been able to produce, so it’s disappointing.

“I pressure myself to score in every game but some days it feels like I just can’t win. I know I have to overcome that; actually if I can’t it really shows that I haven’t grown as a player. So because of that I have to really focus on the second half of the season and overcome that mental block.”

Kagawa’s role in the Manchester United team will be further limited by the arrival of Juan Mata from Chelsea in January.

While Mata is ineligible to play in the Champions League, it would provide best opportunity for the diminutive Japanese, who has appeared five in six group games for the Red Devils, to stage a turnaround in his form.