Sir Alex Happy With 'Headaches'

Sir Alex Ferguson has provided an insight into how he manages to rotate his squad and yet still keep the United players happy.

The Reds enjoy a famed team spirit despite having a large group of talented individuals who would be guaranteed regular starters elsewhere and the boss discusses the reasons behind his selections with the players on a regular basis.

"I don’t think it’s easy picking your team when you have a big squad of players," he explained. "The form of some of the players is becoming very good.

"Tom Cleverley is playing well. Danny Welbeck was terrific against Liverpool and Shinji Kagawa was tactically a problem for them. They couldn't quite get to him.

"I think Rio Ferdinand has been terrific this year. He’s preparing for games in the right way and doing his yoga twice a week. He’s in good physical condition. He and Nemanja Vidic were brilliant against Liverpool, absolutely brilliant. Considering Phil Jones has hardly had any football, he was fantastic against West Ham.

"These are the kinds of headache you want. To be able to say to people I’m leaving you out not because you’ve not played well but because I’m picking a different team today. All the ones who played in the FA Cup on Wednesday will get plenty of football between now and the end of the season."

The increased speed of the game, supported by the statistical elements available through sports science and tracking player performances, has necessitated regular rotation at Old Trafford.

"If you go back to when I started playing young players in the League Cup, a lot of people complained," recalled Sir Alex. "If you’re in Europe, the FA Cup and have the League to contend with, you can’t play the same players all the time. The stats show players’ running performances have soared, particularly sprints. It’s amazing. So the game has developed and is quicker with more energy being spent in games. You have to think more about picking your teams.

"I think the players accept it now. I wouldn’t say they enjoy it but they handle it better. It is difficult. You have to speak to them and can’t ignore it. The days of putting the team up on the notice-board have gone. They have here anyway. I don’t think you can do it any other way."