Fledglings justify Fergie faith

Sir Alex Ferguson was not surprised to see his talented youngsters put on an eye-catching display on Sunday. With Wednesday's UEFA Champions League final in mind, the Manchester United boss made wholesale changes to his starting XI for a final-day showdown with Hull City. Only Darren Fletcher, who is suspended for the midweek meeting with Barcelona, survived the cull as Ferguson gave run-outs to a number of his stars of the future. Much had been made of the possible ramifications of fielding a weakened team against a side still battling against relegation, but in the end that discussion was rendered irrelevant. United's youngsters proved to be more than capable of cutting it in the Premier League and duly ground out a 1-0 win over the struggling Tigers courtesy of a stunning strike from Darron Gibson. Ferguson told MUTV: "It's just what I expected. There was a lot of speculation about what team I'd pick, but I was always confident the one I played would do well. "We really do have a great bunch of young players and what they need is opportunities. "Some of them have played in the League Cup and FA Cup this season, which has been good for them, and they showed the extra maturity they've gained in terms of being able to handle the type of game it was against Hull. "They all played their part and hopefully a lot of them will get more chances next season."

Source: SKY_Sports