Pallister: Defence Will Rotate

Gary Pallister believes the days of two centre-backs being regarded as automatic selections at Manchester United are over.

The former England international forged a successful partnership with Steve Bruce at Old Trafford after joining from Middlesbrough for a British record fee of £2.3million in 1989. Sir Alex Ferguson often stressed the importance of having that solid foundation at the back, as he had enjoyed at Aberdeen with Willie Miller and Alex McLeish.

After Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand became United's top pairing towards the latter years of Sir Alex's reign, the options open to David Moyes in the heart of the back four are impressive with Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling all pushing the experienced duo for a regular starting spot.

"There's not so much of that anymore," Pallister replied, when asked by ManUtd.com about the importance of a regular partnership. "You can't rely on two players to play week in and week out.

"We've seen that and Sir Alex himself did that. You have an idea which is the best partnership but you can't expect them to play every game. The demands are far too great now. Footballers today are more athletic than they were even in my time. These guys have six-packs and sports science behind them. It means they are in the very peak of physical condition but everybody needs a rest at times.

"The games come thick and fast with too much of a high intensity, especially when you play for Manchester United as everybody wants to beat you. So even against the lesser teams in the Premier League, it's tough. I think David Moyes is working out which is his best partnership but there are still parts to play for everybody. It is a squad game now and has been for a number of years.

"Dealing with a squad of this size is something David has got to get used to. He never quite had that luxury at Everton. One of the great things Sir Alex did was keep everybody happy and make them all feel they were playing a part and were very important to that team. David has got that to work with now."

Pallister believes Northern Ireland international Evans has a good case for being one of the first choices for the biggest games while Ferdinand and Vidic could be used sensibly to avoid any wear and tear.

"David Moyes is still trying to find out which is his best partnership," added the former centre-back. "Rio and Vida started the season and we conceded some bad goals, which was not always down to those two in particular. The team as a whole has got to defend.

"Rio has been out of the firing line a little bit and Nemanja has come in and out. I think Rio will be handled in the same way as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. Nemanja had a serious injury and won't play every game.

"But Moyes has got great players like Smalling, Jones and Evans, who I think was outstanding last year and I feel he has a shout to be a permanent fixture.

"Phil Jones has played in midfield and right-back and you can feel sorry for Phil in that respect. It's not very conducive to finding your best form if you're getting put in all these positions. I certainly wouldn't want to have played at right-back and midfield when I was playing centre-back as you find your rhythm playing week in and week out. But maybe it's something he's got to contend with.

"The fact is he is decent in other positions as well and sometimes the squad has to be utilised like that. I'm sure he'd prefer to sit in the centre-back position every week but it's not going to be that way for him at the moment.

"David is still trying to find out which is his best pair but there are no doubts he's got the quality of player that can settle into a back four and make it stronger."