The Serbian defender believes United’s tradition of bringing youngsters through the ranks is beginning to pay dividends once again.

“The match was a great example of what the young players in the team can do. They got their chance and really took it.

“It was an important game for Gabriel Obertan after suffering with injuries over the past year, but he showed his pace and scored a great goal.

“Bebe too showed what a good player he is. The match shows the quality we have in the young players and they need to just keep going and training like they have been over the last few months and they will have a chance.

“There is no question we have young players of quality who are coming through. Manchester United’s history is always based on young players and building from them.

“We believe we have a good squad with ability. We have shown that so far in this group and we are top. Time will show, but I believe we have a great squad capable of winning the Champions League.”

The former Fulham defender has enjoyed a successful start to his career at Old Trafford and has seemingly moved ahead of Jonny Evans in the heirarchy. Growing in stature with every game he plays, Smalling says Vidic and Ferdinand have been instrumental in his development.

“The likes of Rio and Vida have been brilliant,” said Smalling.

“They help guide you through games and I am learning from them all the time.

“They deserve credit too. They have really helped me to settle in and my confidence is sky high at the moment.”

He also admitted that it’s great to receive praise from manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

“It has been great to hear those words from the manager,” Smalling said.

“For him to be saying things like that feels brilliant. Hopefully I can repay the faith.

“I just want to get more games under my belt and kick on from here.”

Now though, it appears the lack of competition in the current squad could be hindering United’s chances of reclaiming the Premier League crown from Chelsea.

In defence we’ve got the barely adequate John O’Shea at right back. Even he must be wondering how he’s managed to become United’s number one choice for the position, yet that’s what we’re seemingly lumbered with until Rafael can make the step up. Wes Brown is an option there too, but injuries have plagued him recently, meaning O’Shea is comfortable in his position and has no real threat to his place in the team.

Similarly with Jonny Evans in central defence, Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown have been constantly injured over the last year and during that time Evans has become more and more prone to errors. He at times looks like a rock alongside Nemanja Vidic and can make the absence of Ferdinand almost unnoticeable, but complacency may be a factor in his recent poor displays that have meant dropped points late on in away games.

Moving into midfield Paul Scholes has been the one pulling the strings for us this season, but with Darren Fletcher in a run of poor form the defence is left vulnerable. Scholes hasn’t got the les to chase back anymore and let’s face it, he was never much good at tackling anyway. Michael Carrick has been out injured and Owen Hargreaves …. he’s alive …. I think. Anderson has recently come back into the side but there’s still not the level of competition for places that there has been in previous seasons.

Now onto the position that should have strong competition for places: strikers.

Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda should all be competing for places in United’s front line, but it seems only three of those players actually have to compete.

While Dimitar Berbatov (along with Nani) have carried us so far this season, Owen has shown he’s still got his goalscoring touch in the Carling Cup and at Bolton. Macheda is full of energy and effort, albeit without much of an end product at the moment. The only one not actually competing is supposedly our star striker, Wayne Rooney.

It doesn’t matter how badly he plays, he keeps his place in the team. I’m usually all for him keeping his place because he often goes on these runs with no goals and then goes on a scoring spree. The problem this time though is that his problems aren’t just down to his form, they’re down to off the field issues that are affecting him mentally. This in turn translates to poor performance (and attitude) on the pitch.

News that Rooney will miss the Valencia tie through ‘injury’ makes me hope that Sir Alex Ferguson has decided to give more deserving players a crack at the whip and leave his misfiring striker on the sidelines until he sorts his head out.

The bottom line though is that all through the squad there’s simply not enough competition for places, meaning less motivation for the players to play well and keep their place in the starting line up.

The home fans were treated to a masterful performance from midfield maestro Paul Scholes as he rolled back the years to give the Magpies a footballing lesson.

Dimitar Berbatov opened the scoring for United, before Darren Fletcher doubled the lead just before half time. Second half substitute Ryan Giggs rounded off the scoring with a controlled volley after a brilliant chipped pass from Scholes.

Newcastle had their best chance of the game in the early exchanges after Andy Carroll’s clever run deceived Nemanja Vidic from a corner, but the giant striker headed wide of Edwin van der Sar’s post.

United quickly started to dominate possession and it was pretty much one way traffic from 20 minutes in.

Scholes picked up where he left off from last weekends man of the match performance against Chelsea and was again pulling the strings in United’s midfield.

The opening goal came after good tracking back from Antonio Valencia won the ball back inside Newcastle’s half. Darren Fletcher picked up the ball and threaded a pass through to Dimitar Berbatov who finished well from a tightening angle.

Nani was also in good form, with much of United’s attacking play coming from the left flank. It was his clever pass that sent Patrice Evra to the touchline to fire a cross into the six yard box where Wayne Rooney was able to touch the ball into Fletcher’s path. The Scot turned and shot low past the helpless Steve Harper to double United’s lead going into half time.

From then on it wasn’t a question of if United were going to win, it was just a matter of how many goals they were going to score in the process. As it happened, one more was all they could muster, but the scoreline flattered Newcastle and didn’t truly reflect United’s complete dominance of the match.

It was a combination of United’s old guard that sealed the win. Scholes the architect, Giggs the finisher, as has so often been the case over the years showed that there’s life in the old dogs yet.

Dimitar Berbatov could have scored a hat full of goals tonight, and while his finishing was poor at times, Sir Alex Ferguson will be pleased that the Bulgarian striker is at least finding himself in goalscoring positions. It really could be a make or break season for him.

It may not have been a scoreline that matched Chelsea’s 6-0 win over West Brom at the weekend, but the performance was just as commanding and will act as a sign of intent from the deposed champions that they’ll be right up there at the top once again, looking to lift the Premiership trophy for a record 19th time.

The Manchester United defender has been the subject of speculation that he would be moving to Real Madrid this Summer. David Gill revealed last week that Vidic had verbally agreed terms on a new long term contract, and now the player himself has insisted he never wanted to leave Old Trafford.

“I don’t know why people think it was a difficult decision. I always said I am happy here, I never spoke about my future,” said Vidic.

“I know there was all this speculation but I never said I wanted to go. There was nothing new. I am very happy to be here.”

It just goes to show that the majority of rumours you read in newspapers are made up by lazy journalists and approved by unscrupulous editors to grab the headlines.

The rumours seemed to stem from one report that Vidic’s wife Ana was unhappy in Manchester and wanted him to move to a team in a warmer climate.

Vidic put that rumour to bed himself back in August last year by saying: “It’s not true that my wife is not happy. I don’t know how that rumour came out, she’s not what you’d call a famous wife. She’s never spoken to a newspaper.”

Still, the ruours continued and incompetent dishonest journalists continued to use Vidic’s wife to sell papers.

Vidic further outlined his commitment to United in May, at the peak of the transfer speulation.

“Tell me the club where I can go that is better than Manchester United?” Vidic said.

“There aren’t many clubs in the world where you can go to that are better.

“I’m happy here. United has been a big part in my development. Everything I have done here I respect. I will try and give my best on the pitch for as long as I can.

It seemed Vidic was becoming just as bored with the rumours as us fans were.

“I’m tired of speaking about my future,” he continued. “I give my best at United and always try to do that. I think that commitment shows how I think.

“I can’t stop people speaking about my future but I have two years left on my contract and I’m happy.

“I need to think about next season, prepare myself, be focused and make sure I prevent injuries.”

It’s great to see the big man commit his future to United, but I’m left wondering how many of our fans doubted his commitment. I try to read a few of our fan forums when I can find the time and it was a generally accepted opinion that Vidic to Real Madrid was a done deal.

I for one have never doubted his commitment because the only “evidence” of his so called impending departure was unsourced, unadulterated, tabloid crap.

Rule of thumb for transfers: Don’t believe a word until you hear it from the player or the manager.

The midfielder knows how important it is to get off to a good start in the Premier League title race and is hoping players like Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra – who went out early with England and France respectively – can use the pre season to refresh themselves for the opening game against Newcastle.

“It is always difficult after a World Cup because the players who have been involved in the tournament have time off,” said Giggs.

“You just hope there is no hangover from the World Cup and everyone can hit the ground running. Hopefully our players will come back refreshed and we can get off to a good start.”

If you register with Bwin you can get odds of 13/5 on Manchester United winning the league, putting them second favourites behing champions Chelsea.

Sir Alex Ferguson is confident that the players won’t suffer as a result of having a poor World Cup.

“I don’t expect a hangover. I think there’ll still be a bit of disappointment in the lad, the United boss said.

“I think all the players coming back from the World Cup who didn’t do well, who didn’t reach their expectations may I say, will feel that they’ve missed something.

“That’s because the World Cup’s only once every four years. That’s the horrible part of that tournament.

“We have several players who have come back very, very disappointed. We’ve Patrice Evra for instance, Wayne Rooney of course, and Nemanja Vidic.”

The Champions will be hoping to bounce back in style after the disappointing result at Goodison Park, by beating a West Ham side currently just 4 points above the relegation zone.

United are expected to welcome Rio Ferdinand back into the starting lineup after serving his 4 match ban for violent conduct, alongside Nemanja Vidic who has been absent with a nerve problem. The pair will bring much needed composure to the back line after recent nervy performances by stand-ins Wes Brown and Jonny Evans.

West Ham come to Old Trafford on the back of successive victories against Hull and Birmingham, but boss Gianfranco Zola has hinted that he may make changes.

United are clear favourites for the game, as usual at Old Trafford, but also because West Ham haven’t won an away game since the opening day of the season against Wolves. United beat West Ham convincingly at Upton Park in December.

Having already lost ground on Chelsea in the race for the title, United can’t afford another slip up tonight or they risk gifting the league leaders crucial breathing space. A win tonight puts them one point behind Chelsea who don’t play again until Saturday when they host Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.

Squads

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Foster, Neville, Brown, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Park, Anderson, Valencia, Carrick, Scholes, Fletcher, Obertan, Gibson, Rooney, Owen, Berbatov, Diouf.

West Ham (from): Green, Stech, Spector, Faubert, Upson, Tomkins, Da Costa, Daprela, Parker, Behrami, Kovac, Collison, Noble, Diamanti, Stanislas, Cole, Mido, Ilan, Franco, McCarthy.

Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister were the foundation for much of our early Premier League successes, while Ronny Johnsen and Jaap Stam starred in the famous treble winning side of 1999. More recently, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have forged arguably the best central defensive pairing in world football, propelling Manchester United to 3 consecutive Premier League titles and back to back Champions League finals.

That foundation has been rocked this season by the losses of both Vidic and Ferdinand for sustained periods. Vidic has played a part in 13 Premier League games this season, while England captain Ferdinand has managed just 6.

Last season saw the emergence of Jonny Evans as one of the brighter prospects in football, putting in assured performances against top class opposition and displaying maturity beyond his years. One of the reasons for his form was that he had the class and experience of either Vidic or Ferdinand beside him to show him the way and give him a sense of calmness. With both of his usual partners missing from the tem, Evans has been forced to play alongside Wes Brown, who before this season hadn’t had a sustained run in the centre of defence for over 2 years, and it shows.

On top of that, United have been unable to maintain the kind of consistency they’d like in the goalkeeping department. First choice Edwin Van der Sar has managed just 11 appearance thus far, while Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczac have mustered 8 each. For a team with title ambitions that is a major spanner in the works.

This kind of inconsistency and chopping and changing of the defence affects morale, affects consistency of performances and even affects other areas of the team. For example, without Rio Ferdinand’s calmness on the ball and ability to dribble out of defence and feed the midfielders, we’ve often resorted to pumping the ball up the pitch, often conceding possession when 6ft+ centre halves out-jump lone front man Wayne Rooney.

Our most common centre back pairing this season is Evans and Brown, and with just 9 appearances together all season it gives you an idea of the scale of the crisis we’ve been thorough and are continuing to go through. Indeed I don’t know of any other team that would be able to play their two first choice midfielders in defence and still maintain a challenge domestically and in Europe.

Take John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho out of the Chelsea defence and put Hilario in net and you’ll see a remarkably weaker team. Similarly, take Gallas, Vermaelen and Almunia from Arsenal and you’ll see the same.

Now put Michael Essien and Frank Lampard in Chelsea’s defence and Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song in Arsenal’s. I think you see what I’m getting at. Not only is the defence significantly weaker, but the effect of playing your two best midfielders at the back has a knock on effect on your ability to retain possession and create chances in the middle of the park. No creativity = no service to the forwards and ultimately a lack of goals.

So it’s no surprise that United have failed to dominate the league this year. To still be within shot of Chelsea despite an injury crisis of epic proportions is an astonishing feat by the coaches and the players. And if we finish the season empty handed I’ll still be able to look back on the season knowing we battled against adversity until the very end.

The Serbian defender hasn’t played any of United’s games in 2010 and was also absent from the flight to Italy to play AC Milan.

The tabloids have used this to suggest he’s unsettled at the club and will seek a move to one of the Spanish giants, Real Madrid or Barcelona, but Ferguson insists there’s nothing in the rumours.

“It’s pure speculation. We get that from time to time and we just have to deal with it,” he told manutd.com.

“A lot of clubs want to buy our players. We want him to stay, of course. He’s a great player and one of the best centre-backs in the world.”

Vidic has trained with United for the last ten days, which seems to suggest the centre back’s problem with returning to the team are purely mental, but Ferguson insists he’ll be patient with him and bring him back when he’s ready.

“It’s a difficult one because Nemanja feels like he needs a lot of training,” said Sir Alex.

“He’s trained for the last ten days but still doesn’t feel ready to take part in any games. We must be patient with the situation and that’s what we are doing.”

His return will be a welcome boost for Manchester United after the major injury crisis they’ve gone through at the back.

Defensive partner Nemanja Vidic is still missing, and with Wes Brown and Jonny Evans seemingly unable to develop a competent partnership, Ferdinand will bring experience and leadership back to the defence.

“I think Rio will play against Hull, which is good news,” Ferguson said.

“He’s been training very well in the last two weeks so it’s time to bring him back.

“It’s a big boost because we’ve had a rough time at the back with Rio, Edwin van der Sar, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic and John O’Shea all being injured at one stage or another.”

Following his mysterious withdrawal from the back four in the warm up before the Leeds game last Sunday, speculation has grown that there was an argument between Ferguson and Vidic.

Real Madrid are reportedly set to capitalize on the supposed rift between the two, by making a £30 million offer for the defender.

Ferguson however, insists the Serbian defender is injured.

“He felt a bit of a problem with the right side of his leg and didn’t feel confident about playing the game,’

“I understand that because it was quite painful.”

“We sent him to a specialist on Wednesday and the problem will be solved by some exercises we are going to have to give him now.”

“He should be back in about 10 days’ time.”

Vidic has also claimed there is no rift between the two.

At one point United were without eight senior defenders, meaning Patrice Evra was the only recognized defender in the team for the away defeat to Fulham.

“I got injured at completely the wrong moment,” he told Sky Sports.

“There were no defenders going into Fulham, just Patrice (Evra) on his own, which was a bit disappointing to say the least.

Brown believes he could have played despite the injury, but thinks he made the right decision to rest rather than risk making it worse and facing a longer spell on the sidelines.

“Maybe I could have played but I felt my hamstring a little bit and the best thing to do was to leave it.

“If I had played I could have made it a lot worse and been out for even longer.”

With Nemanja Vidic expected to be back in ten days, Jonny Evans playing against Leeds on Sunday and Rio Ferdinand hoping to be fit again soon, Brown believes the worst of the injury crisis is behind United.

“Soon we will have everyone back, so it is looking a lot more positive on the injury front, which is good news for the team,” he added.

“This season I have got back in because of injuries and I have done okay.

“We want everyone back but hopefully I can keep doing well.”

Vidic has spoken out on the so called feud, reporting that there is no problem between him and the manager. The reason he missed the Leeds match was through injury.

“Everything surprised me a lot,” he told Sportski zurnal. “Ferguson said that he didn’t talk with the club doctor, but he didn’t say that he doesn’t believe in my injuries and that we are in a fight.

“Everybody in the club knows that I have a marvellous understanding with my coach Ferguson.

“Moreover, I’m not unhappy at Old Trafford. I’m just injured and that is the end of the story.

His agent spoke today regarding the transfer speculation and believes Vidic is staying at United.

Vidic also spoke of his desire to get back playing again, but believes it could be as much as ten days before he’s fit to play again, meaning he’ll miss the Premier League match against high flying Birmingham City.

“I hope that I will be able to play as soon as possible. The doctors told me that I will not be able to play for the next seven or ten days so I don’t think that I will play against Birmingham City.”

It’s rumoured that Real Madrid are preparing a £30million bid to bring the Serbian defender to the Bernabeu as early as the January transfer window, but his agent insists he’s heard nothing of the sort.

“I don’t think he will move [in January],” Paolo Fabbri told ESPN Soccernet. “Except for a big surprise, at the moment I don’t see any solution to leave the team. I don’t think so.

“I don’t know anything about [suggestions Vidic is unhappy at Old Trafford]. The last time I spoke with him he was happy. Since the defeat of a few days ago [against Leeds] I haven’t spoken with him.

“Frankly speaking I haven’t spoken with him recently so I cannot answer to this question. According to Silvano [Martina, Vidic's other agent], the last time he spoke to him – I don’t know if it was one week, ten days, 15 days ago – there was no problem.”

The Serbian centre half was due to start Sunday’s game against Leeds United, but pulled out mysteriously before kick off after finding a problem during the warm up.

Despite also having Rio Ferdinand out injured and admitting that recent results have been affected by the injury crisis, Ferguson is of the opinion that it would be silly to invest in a defender because of the selection headache it would create when everybody is fit again.

“We have paid a price for the absence of so many of our experienced back-four players,” Ferguson told United Review.

“Inevitably people look to this month’s transfer window as a solution to our injury worries but it’s not the answer.

“If someone could give me the name of a really good centre-half who would accept a three-month contract then I would jump at the chance, but where do you find a player like that?

“A decent player would be looking for a three-year contract and I don’t need that kind of addition. It’s already difficult enough leaving good players out of the team without adding another to the mix.

“We will continue to scout and recruit young players to develop but I won’t be looking for a senior player to ease our defensive crisis.”

United have struggled with eight first senior defenders injured at one point, along with first choice goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, but Sir Alex believes signing new players is not the answer to United’s problems.

Wes Brown, Nemanja Vidic and the Da Silva twins have all returned to somewhat ease United’ injury woes, but with long term questions being asked of both Rio Ferdinand and John O’Shea, speculation has been rife that the united boss would invest in a centre half this January.

“Inevitably, people look to this month’s transfer window as a solution to our injury worries but it is not the answer,” Ferguson told The Sun.

“If someone could give me the name of a really good centre-half who would accept a three-month contract then I would jump at the chance. But where do you find a player like that?

“A decent player would be looking for a three-year contract and I don’t need that kind of addition.

“It is difficult enough leaving good players out of the team without adding another to the mix, so I won’t be looking for a senior player to ease our defensive crisis.

“Hopefully the worst is over anyway and we can get stability at the back. Once we do that, I am sure we will make up the ground we have lost.”

Captain Gary Neville made the bench for Wednesday night’s 5-0 thrashing of Wigan Athletic and Sir Alex expects Jonny Evans to be back with a fortnight. He also believes the united medical staff have finally got to the bottom of the back injury that has plagued Rio Ferdinand for the past two seasons.

“The main thing for Rio is there is no recurrence of the back problem,” said Ferguson. “That is what we have been waiting for.

“We wanted him to come through the test of running and turning. He is doing his programme in the gymnasium, which is good and at the moment it is looking very healthy.”

The bad news for Ferguson is that John O’Shea will be missing for up to two months. When he hobbled off during the Republic of Ireland’s defeat to France in a World Cup tie breaker, it was thought he had suffered nothing more than a dead leg, but it now appears to be much worse than first believed and Ferguson admits losing such a versatile squad player is a massive blow.

“There is no sign of recovery at all for John,” said Ferguson.

“It is his first injury at the club and he is a big loss because he is such a versatile player.

“We just want to get him back but it could be a couple of months yet.”

Goals from Dimitar Berbatov as well as an own goal, were enough to see off Hull, but Ferguson also pointed to the returns of Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown to the defence as being important.

“Today is a step forward for us,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “We’ve got the win which is very important as we’re entering a crucial stage, and we’ve got two of our centre-backs back which will make a big difference to us. And they were absolutely magnificent.”

Sir Alex praised Stoke’s battling performance and the way they attacked United in the early stages.

“We have to give credit to Hull because they got really stuck into us and put tackles in everywhere. They gave a lot of fouls away which that had an affect on our momentum, but you know that games like this away from home will be tough.”

Special praise was reserved for Wayne Rooney, who gifted Hull a goal with a horrible back pass in the second half, but recovered fantastically by creating the second and third goals to seal the points.

“He was a threat all day,” declared Sir Alex. “He’s a natural winner and his desire is inborn. Yes, he made a mistake, but aside from that one bad moment, he was exceptionally good. He would have been more sick than anyone by his mistake, but he’s rectified it in a nice way.”

As other European players prepare for their Christmas holidays, the Premier League is getting ready for a busy four game stretch which Vidic admits was difficult to cope with in his first season.

But after three seasons and three Premier League titles, Vidic is looking forward to the period where United traditionally start to pull away from the pack.

‘Other leagues tend to stop,’ said the Serbia defender.

‘It not only helps physically but mentally as well.

‘Obviously, in the first full year I was at the club I found it hard to adapt because the season was so long.

‘But now, it is not a problem. I have been here for three full seasons now so I know what to expect. I am used to it and I can cope.’

‘For the last three seasons, this time of year has always been good for us,’ said Vidic.

‘We tend to play well, improve our form and produce results.

‘I hope this year with the same because now it is important to win games.’

The return of the centre half is a timely boost for the Manchester United manager whose defensive options have been severely limited of late.

Vidic is likely to partner Michael Carrick in the centre of defence, and while it’s not an ideal partnership, Vidic will give United a much needed aerial presence.

Aston Villa are likely to field either one of John Carew or Emile Heskey, so Vidic’s presence in the line up could prove vital if Martin O’Neill sets his team up to play long balls.

“Nemanja is particularly important against Villa because they do cross the ball a lot,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.

“If they were to play Heskey and Carew up front you would have a formidable task trying to deal with them because they are such big lads.

“Vidic is the one player who can cope with that and we are delighted he is back.”

Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick have coped admirably in the absence of eight defenders through injury, but Vidic will provide some natural defensive quality to the team when they host Aston Villa this weekend.

He missed the victories over West Ham and Wolfsburg with a virus, but Sir Alex Ferguson hopes to partner him with Michael Carrick this weekend.

“I expect Vidic to be fit and if he is available we would have him and Michael Carrick, plus Darren Fletcher and Patrice Evra,” Sir Alex told Sky Sports. “I would be happy enough with that.”

Vidic joins a long list of United absentees including Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, John O’Shea, Rafael and Fabio Da Silva.

Vidic was expected to partner midfielder Michael Carrick in central defence, but it now looks like Fletcher – who was set to play right back – will partner Carrick instead.

Fortunately United have already qualified for the next stage of the Champions League, but they still require a point to guarantee winning the group.

The commanding defender had been linked to both Barcelona and Real Madrid in recent weeks, but insists he wants to be part of United for years to come.

“I am glad to have been part of this club for so many years, if I could be one of the bases on which a new team is built I would be very happy,” he said.

“I have never said I want to go and play in another country. Other people have spoken or written about it and I am not happy with that.”

“But I have said in the past what I think. I don’t want to keep talking about it because I can’t stop what people say.

“The fact is I am happy here.”

The Manchester United manager will miss two games because of comments made about referee Alan Wiley last month, but Vidic thinks Mike Phelan is more than capable of looking after the team.

“In that aspect I don’t think there will be a big difference. He [Ferguson] sees everything and he will still have contact with the second coach [Phelan],” Vidic told Sky Sports News. “We know what is waiting for us and what he expects of us – nothing changes. During the game you are focused and you don’t look over to the bench.

“We have some big games coming up, especially after Chelsea moved five points ahead of us, and now the next three or four games are very important to us. I hope we show the character to win the games without him.”

The centre half played 45 minutes against northern Ireland last night without incident and will be hopeful of another run out against South Korea on Wednesday.

United gave their blessing for Vidic to travel with the Serbia squad, bu insisted that he did not play the full 90 minutes. Serbia coach Radomir Antic agreed.

“We arranged before the game Vidic would play one half,” Antic told Sky Sports.

“He will also play on Wednesday. Everything is okay.”

The Manchester United defender has been linked with Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent weeks.

“I am happy at Manchester United and I am looking forward to winning more trophies and I don’t think about leaving.” He told Sky Sports.

Vidic also spoke on the 5 point deficit that United have conceded to Chelsea, but thinks United will be able to overcome it.

“Our mentality does not change after a few games, we know what we need to do this year.

“Definitely it will be hard, but I think we have a good squad, a big squad to do well this season.”

Graham Taylor has questioned Rio’s long term future with both Manchester united and England, stating that “his legs have gone”. But Sir Alex has defended Rio, insisting his quality has not been diminished by injuries.

“In my time here, we have always had one of our star players finding he gets criticised when he has a little blip,” he said.

“It seems to be part and parcel of being a player at Manchester United. We are all aware of that.

“No player likes to be criticised. We all like to be loved and want arms around our shoulders at times.

“But he will come out of it – there is no question about that.

“There is no discernible depreciation in his qualities – none at all.”

Rio has insisted he needs a run of games to find his form, and that’s an opinion Sir Alex wholeheartedly agrees with. Unfortunately time seems to be running out in the race to be fit for Sunday’s clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, as both Rio and Nemanja Vidic are expected to miss tomorrow’s Champions League group game against CSKA Moscow.

“Playing with injury is not the easiest thing to do, and we are trying to get it right,” said Ferguson.

“Calf injuries can be troublesome.

“If you don’t arrest it and give it proper treatment then you can end up the way we are now, and playing in games when you are not 100% fit.

“It is difficult to say about the weekend. He is doing some good work, and we hope we will see improvement in the two of them.”

It’s not all negative though. Sir Alex has Wes Brown back in the frame after a prolonged period of injury.

“The great thing for Wes Brown is that he has remained fit this year,” said Ferguson.

“Last season, he had a terrible run of injuries. But the previous year, he made the most appearances and played in the final in Moscow.

“When he is fit and we bring him in there is no better defender in the country. He is a real true defender.

“I have no worries about Sunday in terms of Brown and Evans – absolutely no worries at all.”