Nemanja Vidic insists there is no need for Manchester United fans to panic despite last night's home defeat to Inter Milan.
It was not so much the loss that gives cause of concern but the poor defending, particularly in a first half which saw Alex Ferguson's men concede three times after Wayne Rooney had put them ahead.
Ferguson admitted afterwards United would 'not beat anyone' if they carried on like that. Yet Vidic, a cornerstone of the United defence last season, does not believe there are long-term problems.
And the Serbian is convinced that when United tackle Chelsea in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday, their defensive unit will look a whole lot more convincing.
"It is a concern we gave those three goals away because we didn't keep our shape and we made a lot of mistakes," said Vidic.
"But Inter were a lot better team than anyone else we have played in pre-season so far, so if we are going to make those errors, it is better to do it against them than in another couple of weeks.
"No team plays that well at this stage, not even Chelsea or Arsenal. The main thing is we have three more days to prepare for Sunday's game. I am sure we will improve defensively and our overall performance will be much better."
John O'Shea went even further, insisting United would not have conceded such shoddy goals in a Premier League game.
"I am sure we won't see it again this season," said the Waterford man.
Like his manager, O'Shea was heartened by other aspects of United's performance, not least the contribution of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
With Alan Smith's imminent departure following hot of the heels of Giuseppe Rossi's move to Villarreal, Rooney will be asked to play higher up the pitch than usual this term.
"The squad is as strong as we have had for some time," added O'Shea. "The quality we have in numbers is fantastic and the manager is going to have a tough time picking a team, which is a dream situation for him.
"On the counter-attack, the pace and ability of Wayne and Cristiano is going to be a major asset. Some of their one-touch football last night was fantastic."
