New Additions Please Sir Alex

Sir Alex Ferguson praised the part played by two debutants on Saturday, when his United team overcame difficult conditions and the loss of an early goal to beat Chicago Fire 3-1.

The Reds manager fielded Phil Jones in defence and David de Gea in goal for the first time and was delighted with their response after the Reds conceded a 13th-minute opener.

"I think they did well, I'm very pleased," Sir Alex told MUTV. "Obviously losing the first goal put us under a bit of pressure but I think they coped well. David made a couple of good saves after that and Phil settled in nicely. I'm pleased."

The United boss was also pleased with the overall performance of his squad, with 20 outfield players taking part in front of de Gea who kept goal for the full 90 minutes.

"It was a good work-out, that's for sure, and all the players have had to work really hard to get the result. We've got a big squad now and we're going to need it, I think. It's a young squad too. We've got Chicharito to join us on tour, Darron Gibson's back home. Then we've got the young players at the club like Pogba, Ravel Morrison, the two Keane brothers... we've got a very healthy situation at the moment."