Boss Has Faith In De Gea

Sir Alex insists he has no qualms about sticking with David De Gea in goal despite the boss recognising the Spaniard still has plenty to learn.

The 21-year-old has impressed throughout much of his debut campaign as a Red, but press and pundits alike have been quick to highlight his errors.

Sir Alex says De Gea is working hard on trying to eradicate the mistakes from his game and the boss remains confident he will mature into a top stopper.

“The boy has got a great talent there is no doubt about that. He has made two or three mistakes coming into the game at 20 years of age, he is 21 now, but in two or three years’ time we won’t be discussing that at all because he will have matured. He will realise his potential then,” explained Sir Alex on Friday.

“At the moment he has found it difficult coming into the English game. The first goal at Liverpool [in the FA Cup] was a case in point. He was crowded out. Our own players created a problem with so many players around him. They didn’t give him any room to manoeuvre. He would never have experienced that in Spain so that was difficult for him.

“It is highlighted when you make a mistake at United,” added the manager. “It can be exaggerated a little bit. But there are mistakes and he wants to address it himself. He will do through maturity and the understanding of the English game.”

Sir Alex admits filling the huge boots left by Edwin van der Sar was never going to be an easy task for anyone, but the manager is sticking to his theory that recruiting young talent was the right move.

“It is harder when you are replacing someone like Edwin van der Sar and Peter Schmeichel – they are probably two of the greatest goalkeepers in European football over the last 40 years.

“We felt we should go for a young keeper who would develop and mature into the position because the potential is there.”