Ferguson finds new role for Giggs

Ryan Giggs will be used as a deep-lying striker or a central midfielder this season as Sir Alex Ferguson tries to best utilise the Welshman’s energies.

The sight of United’s no.11 tearing up and down the flanks at Old Trafford will, but for very few occasions, now be confined to memory.

The 34-year-old played in a more central role in the Reds' 3-1 win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday, and fans can get used to seeing Giggs perform there much more frequently this term.

“He’s been fantastic this season, absolutely brilliant,” beams Sir Alex. “But what we have to do is manage him. He is looking absolutely brilliant now, but we also want to have him nice and fresh at the end of the season. He can decide games for you, that’s the great quality he has.

“I see his role as a central player, where we played him the other night,” the boss adds. “The days of trampling up and down that touchline for Ryan, at 34 years of age, are gone. He can maybe do it occasionally, but I think that is beyond him now.”

Managing the players within his ample squad is arguably the toughest task facing Sir Alex this season. The sheer volume of talent at his fingertips makes the selection process potentially more testing than it has ever been before. But Sir Alex insists he is content to disappoint players every now and again for the sake of the team, and also the players themselves.

“When you have got a squad of players and everyone is fit, you have a problem,” he said. “You have a problem picking the substitutions, never mind the first eleven. It’s always the case that if you want to win something – and we always want to win something – you need to have a strong squad. That has paid dividends for this club. Other clubs have the same mentality now.”

The changing face of the modern game doesn’t soften the blow on a Saturday when Sir Alex informs a clutch of internationals that they have not made his 18-man matchday squad.

“The players understand it, but that doesn’t mean to say they accept it,” he says. “Some players realise the mechanics of the situation. But when it’s your turn to sit out, you don’t like it.

“That’s OK with me, I don’t mind that. It tells me that they all want to play. I’d rather that than some player saying, ‘It’s a tough game, I don’t fancy it today’. We don’t have players like that, and you never want players that are quite happy sitting on the bench.”