Mike Keane Confident Of A Bright Future At United

Manchester United defender Mike Keane believes there has arguably been no better time for young players to make a lasting impact at Old Trafford.

Fellow academy graduates Tyler Blackett and Jesse Lingard were both handed Barclays Premier League debuts against Swansea City last weekend, as new manager Louis van Gaal continued to show faith in the Reds' conveyor belt of talent.

Keane says the Dutchman's approach will be vital to the development of the squad, and insists that he too is prepared to take the step up if he is called upon this season.

"Yeah, I don't think the manager has any problems throwing young players into big games," Keane told ManUtd.com. "He showed that on tour and in the first Premier League game. It is good to be around and you know that if he needs a player to call up then he is not frightened to put a young player and that is good.

"When you see people like Tyler and Jesse making their debuts at the weekend, it just goes to show that things can happen so quickly. One minute you are playing in the Reserves and the next minute you are making your Premier League debut, so you have to be ready for it whenever it comes and make sure you take your chance.

"It has been good because Ryan [Giggs] obviously knows what all of the young players are like from the last couple of years and he knows our histories. He has obviously told the manager about us and he talks to us a lot in training, which is a massive help. It has been really good working with Ryan."

The defender added that the players have adapted well to the newly-implemented 3-5-2 formation in the last few weeks, and believes his chances of breaking into the first team could be increased by the system.

"There are three centre-backs instead of two so I have more chance of playing," Mike continued. I think it suits us as well. Playing on the right side of the three, you always have quite a lot of options on the ball which is good and you have the license to bring it out if you have the chance. I have been enjoying playing there. Obviously we can still improve at it but I think it is going well so far.

"I think it sort of clicked straight away really, from the first game. We had to do a few training sessions on it in terms of positioning and obviously little things go wrong every game that you have to work on , but the basics of the position are quite simple and I think we have all picked it up quite well. Obviously we can still improve."