| Ferguson heaps praise on Hernández • Sir Alex Ferguson heaps praise on fantastic finisher• Mexican gives United manager great back-up optionSir Alex Ferguson tipped Javier Hernández to challenge Wayne Rooney for a more permanent position in the Manchester United team after the Mexican came off the substitutes' bench to score the late winner in a 1-0 defeat of Valencia.Hernández's 85th-minute strike, combining with another substitute, Federico Macheda, put Ferguson's men in a commanding position in Group C of the Champions League, and the United manager eulogised about the 22-year-old's ability in front of goal."The form of [Dimitar] Berbatov has delayed his appearances in the team and, of course, playing Wayne and Berbatov has been a natural choice at the start of the season, so it's meant Chicharito [Hernández] has not had a lot football," Ferguson said. "But he's young, he's developing his game, he's been getting some good body strength from working in the gymnasium and, though he still has work to do on that, you can't take away the fact that's he a fantastic finisher."The way he took his chance it was as if he was shelling peas. Left foot, right foot, he's a fantastic finisher and he has proved that tonight. I felt his pace might be a problem for Valencia when he came on and his penetration caused them a lot of problems."Hernández, a ÂŁ7.4m signing from Chivas de Guadalajara, scored in the Community Shield against Chelsea but has been restricted to only one start since."It is a dream come true for me but the result is the biggest thing for me," he said. "I'm so happy about the goal and it will give me so much confidence. I am only at the start of my career with United and to score so early in the Champions League is a big boost for me."It was some great play by Nani to keep the ball and set Kiko [Macheda] away. It was a great ball in from him and I was able to put it away. I always used to watch the Champions League when I was back home in Mexico so this is a special moment for me."The expertise with which he dispatched his shot reinforces the view that Ferguson has a tremendous back-up option to call upon at a time when Rooney's season has become blighted with injuries and problems in his personal life, but Ferguson was equally satisfied with his team's defending against the early leaders of La Liga.United have conceded nine goals in their opening six Premier League games and Ferguson said: "Our concern recently has been losing goals. We've been very careless and we had to ensure we defended properly because that has been a real concern."We had to close the space as much as we could and I think we did that well. Valencia are a good team – they're not top of their league for nothing – but [Edwin] Van der Sar had only one save to make in the entire game and we have got to be happy with that. For us to win here is a good night for Manchester United."The manager also identified Anderson for special acclaim after an impressive performance from the Brazilian in the centre of midfield and there was praise for Rio Ferdinand, starting alongside Nemanja Vidic in central defence for the first time this season."Rio needed a game like that," Ferguson said. "His experience was vital, as was his ability to take the ball. When you consider that his first game – a real game – we must be very pleased with that performance."Valencia are a very good team and you have to give us credit for how we defended. We now have a double header against Bursaspor and hopefully our strong home record stays as it has over the years." Manchester UnitedChampions LeagueDaniel Taylorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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