McNair Debut Impresses Rooney

Manchester United debutant Paddy McNair earned plenty of plaudits for his performance against West Ham on Saturday and captain Wayne Rooney has now joined the growing list of admirers.

Injuries to Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans forced Louis van Gaal to call upon the 19-year-old who was paired with new signing Marcos Rojo at the heart of the Reds defence. The win over the Hammers wasn't without its tense moments, particularly after Rooney was sent off with half an hour left to play, and the captain was hugely impressed by McNair's performance under difficult circumstances.

"That was probably one of the bigger tests a young defender can face, up against a team putting in lots of crosses into the box, but he took it and stood up to it, especially in the second half," said Rooney. “It won’t get much tougher in terms of physical strength and aggression against him, but he dealt with it and we are all delighted with him."

McNair's stand-out moment was a last-ditch clearing header from almost inside his own goal as Hammers striker Enner Valencia looked set to pounce at the back post. Rooney added: “I saw the clearance he made at the end. I thought he was tremendous for us."

McNair is one of seven Academy graduates that Louis van Gaal has unleashed into first-team action this term with Rooney insisting, like his manager, that youth will always be given an opportunity at United.

"Although we let Tom Cleverley go on loan and Danny Welbeck go to Arsenal, we have brought in a young Manchester lad in Tyler Blackett who played every game until Saturday. The situation was forced on the manager but he has brought Paddy in and it's shown he isn’t afraid to throw young players in."