Sir Alex Ferguson says a number of Uniteds young players may have
to go out on loan to get the challenges they need to progress their
careers after the Reds bowed out of the Carling Cup on
Wednesday.
The 2-0 defeat to Coventry at Old Trafford left the Reds boss
shocked and flabbergasted after his young side with an
average age of 21 never really got going against Iain Dowies
committed side.
The competition had been viewed as an opportunity to give the likes
of Gerard Pique, Danny Simpson, Jonny Evans, Chris Eagles, Lee
Martin and Dong Fangzhuo the chance to show what they can do.
With that avenue now cut off, there could be loan moves for a
number of that group, although Pique and Simpson may be held back
as defensive cover.
"It was a shock to us, said the boss at his Friday press
conference. But the one thing that perhaps mitigated it was the
fact that they've not had enough football as a team.
"We looked at the League Cup as an opportunity for these players to
play, he added. "Now that's gone I think we'll have to review the
situation with one or two of them going on loan, because they do
need football.
"With (Gary) Neville and (Owen) Hargreaves coming back we've got a
good strong squad. There'll have to be some that we have to keep.
Pique was excellent on Wednesday. He was our best player along with
Anderson. We'll probably keep Simpson as he can play both full-back
positions. But I'm maybe looking at the rest going on loan as they
need to play football.
