Wes Salutes Stand-ins

Wes Brown was swift to salute the work of United's defensive stand-ins after making a triumphant return to the Reds' backline at Hull.

A dizzying defensive merry-go-round has seen countless players deputise out of position in recent weeks. Although the Reds slipped up against Aston Villa and Fulham, three wins out of five marked a respectable return for a patched-up United side.

On Sunday, the Reds' platform for victory at the KC Stadium was an outstanding dual display from Brown and Nemanja Vidic at the heart of the defence, but Brown paid tribute for the players who made way to accommodate the more natural defenders.

"They've been telling us to hurry up and get fit," he told MUTV. "But they've done well. I can't remember (a spate of injuries) like it. We've handled it pretty well, we've got a good squad.

"Like the gaffer has said, though, if you do it so many times then you'll get caught out eventually, so it was good that me and Vida were back today. Hopefully soon we'll have Jonny (Evans), Gaz (Neville) and Rio (Ferdinand) back too and we'll be back to a full strength squad."

With several players still sidelined, the Reds were made to sweat for three vital points at the KC Stadium, and Brown felt that the champions earned their victory.

"Hull made it tough for us with a good performance, but we did well in the end," he said. "It was difficult. They pressured us and made it very hard. Then they got back to 1-1 and it was up or down really.

"They had a good little spell, but we managed to nick another one and from then on I thought we were comfortable. In the first half they had some good shots, Tom made some good saves but all in all I thought it was a good game and we played well. We had to perform to win the game."