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.

Howard maintained his own outstanding form since his £2million summer move from Major League Soccer with a series of fine saves.

But rather than accept the plaudits, the 25-year-old chose to marvel at the way his team-mates cope with the intense glare of publicity.

“Dealing with on- and off-field pressure the way United do is why they are one of the best teams in world sport,” he said.

“Right now there is a lot of pressure on us but I have been very impressed at the way our players react to it. Certain players relish it.

“On matchday, they are able to put everything to one side and have complete tunnel vision. We pull together to get good results and that has been the difference.”

Howard’s performance was one of the major differences at the Reebok Stadium as United recorded their eighth straight win and confirmed the belief of Alex Ferguson that he is one of the stars of the season so far.

Ferguson brought Howard in to reinforce his goalkeeping options, part of an overall strategy to build a third great side before he eventually retires from the game.

Although the fiery Scot has yet to sign his new contract extension, tying up the loose ends remains a formality and his plans for the future continue unabated.

He has not yet given up on the possibility of Saha arriving from Fulham, although given the anger an £8million bid for the Frenchman provoked from Mohamed-al-Fayed, it appears Saha will have to do more than merely condemn the Cottagers for not letting him leave if he is eventually to end up at Old Trafford.

If Saha does not head north, Ferguson is set to switch his attentions to Leeds’ Mark Viduka, although the £7million price tag placed on the Australian’s head could put him off.

It does appear inevitable that there will be two new names in his squad next summer as the final touches are being put on the deals that will see Celtic’s Liam Miller and 18-year-old Chinese striker Dong Fangzhou join in the near future.

United officials are sceptical over the claims of Lin Lefeng, general manager at Dong’s club side Dalian Shide, that a deal in the region of £3.5million will be completed within the next couple days, as there is a mass of paperwork still to sort out.

The major problem for Old Trafford chief executive David Gill is that the 18-year-old is not eligible for a work permit because he does not fulfil the criteria of appearing in 75% of his country’s international matches over the past two seasons.

It means Dong is almost certain to be loaned out to one of United’s worldwide network of ’feeder’ clubs, possibly Belgian league side Royal Antwerp.