United handle pressure well, says Howard

AMERICAN hero Tim Howard cannot believe how easily his Manchester United team-mates dismiss outside pressures and remain fully focused on their pursuit of glory.

In his first six months at Old Trafford, Howard has already been fully exposed to the United soap opera: a post-match brawl against Arsenal; the ongoing furore over Rio Ferdinand’s missed drugs test; the departure of chief executive Peter Kenyon; and Alex Ferguson being accused of bully-boy tactics in his bid to land Louis Saha.

Yet somehow, United’s on-field performances remain unaffected. Wednesday night’s 2-1 win at Bolton took them three points clear of main title rivals Arsenal and seven ahead of Chelsea.