Megson: Ron exit hasn't weakened United

16 October 2009 13:48
Megson's Bolton travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to take on a United side that have required late goals to salvage results in their last two Premier League home fixtures - Michael Owen's 96th-minute winner against Manchester City and Anton Ferdinand's stoppage-time own goal in a 2-2 draw with Sunderland. United's shaky performances have led to renewed debate about the extent to which Sir Alex Ferguson's team are missing Ronaldo following the Portuguese's £80million summer defection to Real Madrid. However, the Red Devils are still unbeaten for nine matches in all competitions and Megson feels the fact other players have stepped up their game has kept the champions as strong as ever. Asked whether he thought the United team had been weakened by Ronaldo's departure, Megson said: "No - maybe they are a bit different in that Ronaldo isn't there. "But they are also a little bit different in that (Wayne) Rooney is growing in stature with each season that comes along, and there are one or two other players. "People seem to be surprised that (Darren) Fletcher is doing as well as he is doing, but he always has. "People have always had their opinion about Darren and yet any other football club would take him tomorrow. "Because he's not flamboyant, he's rarely got the credit he deserves, but now you see him starting to flourish, you see what Alex Ferguson knew all along." Bolton have been blossoming themselves recently and go into the match without a loss in their last five matches. Wanderers have a testing sequence of fixtures ahead of them with Everton next at home before a cup and league double-header against Chelsea and a trip to Aston Villa. But Megson is in confident mood and hopes his players can continue their good form, starting with a win - which he admits is one of the first he always looks out for at the start of every season. "When I was at Norwich, you would look down to see when the derby was against Ipswich, but the game everyone wanted to play in was United at Old Trafford," Megson said. "United have to cope with that because everyone does raise their game when they play against them, including the other sides in the big four. "It's a great occasion. It will be the biggest crowd that most of the players will ever play in front of. "The thing that I would like to stress to the players is that it's one thing to say to your grandchildren in the future that you have played there, but it's entirely different to say that you have played there and you have won there. I would love our players to be able to say that." Bolton drew 2-2 with Tottenham in their last match before the international break, and Megson believes his side have improved with every game after a poor start to the campaign. He said: "We've been doing okay for the last few games, unbeaten in all competitions. "We seem to be playing better as each game has gone on, both technically and in terms of the physical output that has been involved. "We were a bit disappointed with the Tottenham result to be completely honest because I thought we played well and I wouldn't expect us to be conceding the two goals they scored against us, with the players we have got. "I think with the opportunities we created, on any other day it would have led us to win it." He continued: "We played well against Tottenham, we played well against Birmingham, Portsmouth, Stoke in the second half, Liverpool. "I think the only time that we've come in and been disappointed with the way that we played was the first half against Stoke and the first half against Sunderland, but then in the second half we were much better. "You do get disappointed with some of the results, but that happens to everybody. At the moment we are doing fine and the place is buoyant. "With our players at the moment, the work-rate is terrific, the organisation, the way that they are going about their work and the ability they are showing... It's there for everybody to see."

Source: Team_Talk