Gibson Hails Strong Squad

United may be losing players left, right and centre, but Darron Gibson praised the strength of the Reds' squad after Saturday's 4-0 win over West Ham.

Sir Alex had defensive selection problems before the game, with Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, John O'Shea, Fabio and Rafael all unavaliable. By the time the final whistle sounded, Gary Neville and Wes Brown had joined the walking wounded.

It meant United began the match with Darren Fletcher at right back... and ended it with Michael Carrick and Evra in the heart of defence, with Ryan Giggs on the left.

"It was a massive win for us and shows how good our squad is," Gibson told MUTV. "We have players who can step in and do a good job. I’ve not seen Michael play at centre half before... and Fletch was playing out of position too."

Gibson netted his third goal of the week (and United's second at Upton Park) with a stunning strike from outside the box.

"I was buzzing after the Spurs game on Tuesday and ready to play again. It was a massive boost for me [to start against West Ham]. My two goals during the week got my confidence up and the gaffer’s stuck with me, which is great.

"For my goal, Patrice gave me the ball, I gave it to Giggsy… the manager and Mick Phelan had been telling me and Anderson to get forward so I ran forward and Giggsy gave me the ball back and I just stroked it home. I think it was better than the goals against Spurs. It was a better celebration so I’m happy with that!

"Overall, we’re very happy with the performance and I think we're starting to hit our stride. Hopefully we can kick on from here and keep winning."