KENYON BANGS HIS DRUM

"He loves to answer people, to prove the critics wrong. He's done that every time people have doubted him," said Kenyon. "There's no doubt Alex was disappointed at what happened last year - we all were. He's not used to finishing third in the league and going out of Europe the way we did. He has his standards and demands everybody lives up to them. We know we had the skill and capability to do a lot better than that. It hurt all of us and only adds to the determination to put that right by winning things this season."

Kenyon added: "Alex has been thinking all summer about getting back with the squad and strengthening the defence and he is confident the quality is there to redress the balance from last year. When you see the headlines about an 'Old Trafford crisis' it rallies people round and ensures they give their best. I know the players are even more hungry and coming back to make sure they address what happened last year because that disappointment was acute."