Alex Ferguson is confident his lightning strike on the summer
transfer market will ensure Manchester United are strong enough to
survive any major mishap next season.
Although United managed to end a four-year drought by lifting the
Premier League trophy last season, they were unable to withstand a
catalogue of injuries and eventually fell to AC Milan in the
Champions League semi-final and Chelsea in the FA Cup final.
It was a situation Ferguson was anxious to address and after luring
Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson to Old Trafford within a
fortnight of the season ending, he is now intent on ensuring
Argentina striker Carlos Tevez is a Red Devil by the time his side
begin the defence of their crown against Reading next month as
well.
And once Tevez is on board, even though Ferguson accepts there are
bound to be some departures, the United boss feels he will have the
depth of quality to sustain a challenge for honours on all
fronts.
``When it came to the latter part of last season, we just did not
have a squad strong enough to handle all the competitions we were
in,'' he said.
``We had a great opportunity in three competitions but we could not
stretch our squad far enough to save legs when we needed to.
``The evidence of last season tells you we need a very strong squad
and I feel we have that now.
``Yes, it is going to take management. No-one is going to play all
the games next season and hopefully the players accept
that.''
Whether the likes of Gabriel Heinze, Alan Smith, Kieran Richardson,
Giuseppe Rossi and Gerard Pique - who have all been linked with
big-money moves away from Old Trafford - are among the consenting
voices remains to be seen.
Ferguson would be a reluctant seller but accepts exits may be an
inevitable consequence of his rebuilding.
``I don't expect anybody to leave but it may happen because some
players will view the situation and think maybe they won't get
enough games to satisfy them, but there are no decisions made at
the moment,'' he said.
Ferguson stated neither Nani, nor Anderson, the young duo who have
arrived from Portugal at great expense, would be exposed too much
next term.
Hargreaves is another matter entirely though.
Having waited so patiently to get his man, Ferguson is now looking
for the 26-year-old to provide the discipline and experience he
learned in a decade of service at Bayern Munich.
``Owen brings a lot of speed to the midfield and a good energy,''
he said. ``He also has a lot of European experience, which not many
players have.
'His time in the Bundesliga brings us something different, which
will help us as the season goes on.' end