Ferguson: 'Time to draw breath on transfers'

Alex Ferguson watched his side enter the post-David Beckham era with a handsome 4-0 drubbing of Celtic then said it was time to ‘draw breath’ in the transfer race.

Having missed out on Harry Kewell and seen the protracted Ronaldinho saga end with the Brazilian signing for Barcelona, United are now re-assessing their situation ahead of the start of the Premiership season on August 16.

The absence of a big-name arrival did not hinder them too much in Seattle as they contemptuously swept Celtic aside in front of the biggest football crowd ever to attend a game in the area.

However, Ferguson admitted there could be at least one more deal done before the August 31 Champions League deadline – but it will not be in the next few days.

“We need to draw breath,” said Ferguson. “The problem for our club is that as soon as someone wants to sell a player, they attach our name to it. We are not doing any business at the moment and are analysing the situation.

“There are probably two or three players we will be interested in over the next few weeks but we are not going to rush out after what has happened over the last few months. We want a break from it. The media will keep speculating but they will be wrong.”

Predictably, Ruud van Nistelrooy led the United charge, grabbing the opening goal after just seven minutes, then setting up Ryan Giggs for the second after Alan Thompson had missed a penalty for the Bhoys.

With 44 goals in all competitions last season, van Nistelrooy’s abilities are well known, but of more importance to Ferguson at the Seahawks Stadium was the performance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Norwegian has been asked to fill the void left by Beckham and if this display is anything to go by, the England skipper will hardly be missed.

Solskjaer’s energy ensured he was an active performer in defence and attack, and he capped a fine overall display by scoring United’s third after Gary Neville had set him free inside the box.

Ferguson has not mentioned the Beckham word since the £25million deal with Real Madrid was pushed through last month.

He is not about to break that habit, but was more than happy to praise Solskjaer’s contribution.

“We never regarded him as a natural wide player because when players score goals like he can, and have the eye for goal and two quick feet, you tend to say his best position is striker,” said Ferguson.

“But he has proved he has the adaptability to play in both wide positions. Maybe that is an example of the experience he has gained at the club. You are seeing a far more rounded mature player now.

“When he came to the club he was always treated as a substitute and I admit I looked upon him in that way.

“But over the last two seasons he has got more consistency, more strength and greater experience.

“In the games that really mattered last season he was a revelation.”

Debutant David Bellion added a fourth late on to complete a miserable night for Celtic, who now travel to Cleveland for an encounter with Boca Juniors on Friday ahead of an expected Champions League tussle with Lithuanian unknowns Kaunas.

The standard of that opposition might not be particularly high, but Hoops boss Martin O’Neill knows he has plenty of work to do if Celtic are to reach United’s standard.

“Manchester are vying with Real Madrid to be the best team in Europe,” he said.

“Their finishing was absolutely clinical but we didn’t help ourselves with some very sloppy defending. It is only pre-season but we have been working for two weeks and clearly we still have plenty to do.

“If we had scored the penalty it would have gone to 1-1 and given us drive and enthusiasm to keep going but within a couple of minutes they had made it 2-0 and it was a long old battle after that.

“United have been competing in the Champions League for quite a few years and they have learned quite a bit from that sort of experience.

“We are improving and trying to get there but Manchester United are the benchmark.”