Ferguson wants protection for De Gea

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes new keeper David De Gea deserves more protection ahead of their visit to Bolton.

The Spanish keeper was given a physical welcome to the Premier League in United’s opening fixture and Ferguson wants more help from officials in their first away match since their trip to the Hawthorns.

De Gea conceded his first English Premier League goal in their 2-1 win on the opening day, but Ferguson said he is expecting more protection from the referee ahead of their clash at the Reebok Stadium on Saturday.

“Well he’s bound to get better protection than he did at West Brom and there is no problem with that,” the Scot said.

“Part of the challenge is that each game that comes along for him is a new challenge. It was a different challenge for him and he actually did really well in dealing with it, but he didn’t get the protection that he deserved from the referee at the time which is disappointing because you expect better protection than that.”

One reason behind United’s flying start to their premiership defence has been the acquisition of winger Ashley Young, who scored two stunning goals in their 8-2 demolition job of Arsenal at their last league appearance.

The former Aston Villa man earned praise from Ferguson, who said he had previously tried to lure Young to the club before nabbing his man in the off-season.

“He has done very well and he’s versatile too. He has a good understanding of the game. He is a player that we tried to get many years ago when he was at Watford but we were just a bit late,” Ferguson said.

“He has matured at Aston Villa, his last season for them was fantastic, (and) especially considering that they had a difficult year themselves. Since he has come to us, he has taken the challenge very well.”