Ferguson expects his England stars to shine

Sir Alex Ferguson is backing his fallen stars to recover from their international disappointments by firing Manchester United to victory at Aston Villa on Saturday.

John O'Shea and Darren Fletcher were both left frustrated by poor results for the Republic of Ireland and Scotland respectively but it is England duo Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand who suffered the most.

Both are facing the dismal prospect of an unexpected summer off as England struggle to reach Euro 2008, a scenario that would almost certainly see the dismissal of Ferguson's former assistant Steve McClaren after just 18 games in charge.

But the United boss has felt no need to throw a protective arm around his charges.

After seeing so many players experience the same emotions during his two decades at Old Trafford, Ferguson is happy to let the nature of the game take care of the problem.

'They are grown men and they are big men, they have to be able to deal with it,' said the Scot.

'There have been a few disappointments, with Scotland, Ireland and England. But the situation is nothing unusual and I have not spoken to them about it.

'The beauty of football is that you always have the next game in which to rectify what happened in the last one. Sometimes it is seven days, sometimes it is four. But it means you can always get over these things quickly.'

Ferguson sees no reason why this weekend should not provide instant relief.

While United's next opponents have continued to improve under Martin O'Neill, Villa Park is one of the Red Devils happier hunting grounds.

It is 12 seasons since Ferguson last tasted a league defeat in August 1995 to the Midlands outfit, Villa's success drawing the famous `You'll never win anything with kids' response from Alan Hansen.

Ryan Giggs was not in the United line-up that day however, he was one of the youngsters Hansen was talking about, even though he had already won two league titles and an FA Cup by that stage.

Ferguson has certainly never had any cause to regret trusting that `Class of 92' and particularly Giggs, who this week signed a contract which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2009 and hopefully much longer, way beyond the end of his playing days, possibly in the type of ambassadorial role Sir Bobby Charlton has at present.

'Without doubt, Ryan is still a big influence in the dressing room,' said Ferguson.

'He sets a tremendous example and I hope he stays here a lot longer.

'He has never shown any inclination to go into coaching but he certainly has a role to play once he has finished because we need to recognise the deeds of our great players.'

Giggs' presence will be required on the field tomorrow as United look to maintain a six-match winning streak during which time they have not conceded a goal.

The run has allowed Ferguson's team to keep pace with early table-toppers Arsenal, who they meet at the Emirates Stadium on November 3.

Some pundits have suggested Arsenal are too raw and inexperienced to last the pace this season, feeling United, Liverpool and Chelsea will eventually emerge as the major championship contenders.

Ferguson disputes that theory. He only has to look back 12 months to find similar opinions being expressed about his own side, who went on to win the title in such glorious fashion.

'It is still an open race but Arsenal have had a great start and they are the ones we are chasing at the moment,' said Ferguson.

'I know challenging for a title is a new experience for a lot of their players but some of them have been there before and the manager has, which is a help.

'People said the same thing about us last year but we led the league for three-quarters of the season, so I don't think it is a handicap.

'The main thing is I know we will chase them with great fervour and determination.

'Our team is coming together now. We are getting on with the business of winning games and hopefully we can continue to do that now.'