The Manchester United captain has praised the youngster after his solid debut against West Ham.
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has spoken to the club website
in glowing terms about young centre-back Paddy McNair, who performed
admirably in the game against West Ham on Saturday after his last minute
call-up.
“That was probably one of the bigger tests a young
defender can face, up against a team putting lots of crosses into the
box, but he took it and stood up to it.
It won’t get much tougher in
terms of physical strength and aggression against him, but he dealt with
it and we are all delighted with him. I saw the clearance he made at
the end. I thought he was tremendous for us”.
It was Rooney’s red
card which lead to the young Northern Irishman being put under so much
pressure, as the Red Devils back line was forced to retreat deeper and
deeper a man down, inviting waves of West Ham attacks.
McNair
coped well with the direct approach as the Hammers besieged his area,
and the late headed clearance of a Jenkinson cross to which Rooney
referred was a particular highlight.
Given the injuries and
suspensions plaguing Louis Van Gaal’s Man Utd at present, McNair may be
granted further opportunities ahead of the international break.
Despite
some hugely exciting attacking talents being brought to Old Trafford,
the club was strongly criticised for a failure to reinforce the defence.
Optimism
surrounding McNair’s performance means that the solution to Manchester
United’s defensive travails could well be found from within.
No comments:
Post a Comment