Sir Alex: Trust In Youth

Sir Alex Ferguson has once again leapt to the defence of his young players and is confident they’ll be mainstays in the side for many years.

United have endured a difficult couple of days since tumbling out of the Champions League in Basel and have been written off by some sections of the media.

But Sir Alex questioned the wisdom of criticising his team for one below-par performance and insists he retains complete faith in his squad.

He pointed to the famous "you’ll never win anything with kids" side of 1995 as proof that the critics are often wrong, and believes his new breed will enjoy similar success.

"When the likes of [Ryan] Giggs and the other young lads came in to the side, they came in for criticism early on, particularly against Aston Villa [in 1995]. We've experienced that many times over the years," the boss said.

"But the Wes Browns and John O'Sheas and Darren Fletchers all became the foundation of the club and that's what will happen with these young players.

"They've achieved many great things so far. Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck have played for their country – they will be the foundation of the club in a few years' time, there's no question about that.

"They had a nasty experience on Wednesday but they know they have the trust of me and my coaches, and they will not be hounded because of one bad performance. Time will prove us right.

"We're not the only club in the world that can't have a bad result. Everyone gets them. How you recover from them is important and it's good for our young players in particular."

Sir Alex knows an intense media focus comes with the territory at Old Trafford – and he has long since learned how to handle it.

"It's a situation we have to deal with," he said. "I don't think anyone relishes seeing criticism of themselves. But I've said it time and time again: you only need to lose two games here and the hounds are out.

"It [the criticism] is something I don't really follow, to be honest, because I know the work we're doing here is the right work. The players we have here are the right players.

"We always want to be better, we want to be perfect, but you never can be perfect. Perseverance is necessary to try and achieve that, and that's what this club is good at."