Nemanja Vidic, the Manchester United defender, is backing the club to win an unprecedented clean sweep of trophies this season as the Barclays Premier League champions attempt to lay to rest the ghost of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The loss of Ronaldo and Carlos Tévez during the summer may have forced a reassessment of expectations in some quarters, but while Vidic accepts that United will miss the Portugal and Argentina forwards respectively, the Serbia defender insists that there is no shortage of self-belief at Old Trafford.
United flew to Istanbul yesterday before their opening Champions League group B match against Besiktas tomorrow with the 2-0 defeat by Barcelona in the final of the competition in May still fresh in the memory.
Vidic believes that crushing disappointment, coupled with the departures of Ronaldo and Tévez, has served only to bring the squad closer together, though, and has warned the rest of Europe to underestimate United at their peril.
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“It is true that we will miss Cristiano and Carlos for their goals — we cannot deny that,” Vidic said. “However, this United squad has enormous potential because we have so many talented youngsters who are improving all the time. The club will continue to aspire to all the biggest goals no matter who leaves us. We can still win all the trophies on offer this season.
“Our expectations have not gone down at all because of the rebuilding. Our goals are exactly the same — to win the Premier League and to win the Champions League. We genuinely believe our fans will have many reasons to be happy this season and it is our intention to make that happen.
“Perhaps on paper we are weaker this season but on the pitch it is a different matter. Together, we have the determination and ability to prove to everyone that we can still accomplish all our goals this season. We are paid loads of money to win and that’s what we intend to do.”
United may have lost some of their firepower, but Vidic believes that the defence will offer the perfect platform for a record fourth consecutive league triumph — and nineteenth title in all — as well as a third successive Champions League final appearance.
“The United defence is as hard as a rock,” he said. “We have played together for a few years now and are a tight-knit unit.
“The manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] demands total concentration and a fighting approach. All the players know their duties and are seasoned professionals who know what it’s all about. We won’t win all the time but we will always give our all. None of us are thinking about last season’s final defeat to Barcelona. We will be very unhappy if we fail to win the competition this season. The same goes for any competition we enter.”
Vidic was heavily linked with a move to AC Milan, Barcelona or Real Madrid in the summer, but the defender insists that he is happy at Old Trafford. “I have grown accustomed to the lifestyle and I’m enjoying myself in Manchester,” he said.
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