Ferguson praise for Paul Lambert

Paul Lambert

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has heaped praise on Paul Lambert for encouraging young players this season as the Reds prepare to take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Monday.

An abysmal run of games around Christmas hindered Villa’s progress in the table and Lambert attracted criticism from all around for fielding a very young side, leaving veterans such as Darren Bent on the bench. However, the Villa Park club have picked up 10 points from their last 5 games, but still sit just above the relegation zone at 17th spot. Ferguson, who is himself known for promoting youngsters, said:

“Young people give you a future by creating a strong blend that can last for a few years. Young players will always remember the manager who gave them their first start. The team will improve because of that, I am sure of it.

“Paul had the courage to do it and even if they were to go down, Villa have a structure that should bring them right back up. But on the evidence of what we’ve seen recently they’ve every chance of staying up anyway.”

Sir Alex admitted that he expects a tough fight based on Villa’s recent form against Stoke and Fulham. The Scotsman added:

“We expect a scrap. The least you expect is for a team to fight for everything when they’re down there.

“Villa showed against Stoke that they have a bit of life about them and they should have won their game against Fulham last week. When I saw the structure of those teams, they looked really positive selections.

“A lot of teams in that situation may pick a team to get something out of the game. Paul Lambert picked a team to win. There is a distinction.”