THE KING PRAISES RONNIE

Eric Cantona's No7 shirt is now being worn with pride by Cristiano Ronaldo. And the Frenchman is a huge fan of his successor.

He said: "Ronaldo needed to gain some experience and needed to score goals, and now he is a world-class player. It can be difficult for him [the abuse] from supporters of other clubs, but not from the supporters of Manchester United. He plays for them and he is one of the family. It is exactly the same case with Wayne Rooney."

Cantona, who was speaking at the ICE Exhibition at Earls Court in London yesterday, says the current United team could emulate the feat of the 1999 Treble-winning team.

"They are strong, but they have to prove they are a great team. They can do it [win the treble] and they need to do it," he said. "Last year United had a new team and it was a new generation. But I was sure they would become the best because you are stronger when you start with a new generation of players."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes Sir Alex Ferguson's big-match experience will be a crucial factor in United's bid to wrest the Premiership title from Chelsea. Solskjaer told MUTV: "The manager is the most important person. He knows when to rotate the team, he knows when to rest players." Solskjaer is confident United can bounce back following Sunday's defeat at Arsenal. "We have got the experience to sort ourselves out," he said. "If you have done it before, you do not get nervous."