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Sir Alex Ferguson has made a staunch defence of under-pressure David De Gea and slammed the press for having "an agenda" against the goalkeeper.
The 20-year-old Spanish stopper arrived in the summer for a reported £17m fee as the successor to the retired Edwin van der Sar and had a shaky start to his Manchester United career.
Clean sheets against Tottenham and Bolton and a spectacular penalty save against Arsenal have gone some way to dispel early concerns. However, the assured performance of Anders Lindegaard in Wednesday's Champions League tie at Benfica had some corners suggesting De Gea could be replaced as number one.
Last weekend, there were false reports in the press that De Gea would not be starting at Bolton yet the 'keeper had already been told he would be playing.
"There's obviously an agenda on De Gea," Sir Alex said. "We've experienced that in the press for some reason. They seem desperate for the boy to fail.
"That's the impression I get and I don't understand it. It's nothing to do with his age. They never did that with Petr Cech.
"I think they will all want interviews with him when he's doing well. He doesn't speak English, was looking for a house but has got one now, and is learning to drive in England. He's 20 years of age and doesn't know the culture of the country.
"I think that's a lot to deal with but he's shown great composure about the whole thing. He's not got himself flapping about the goalmouth. I think he's absolutely outstanding - the boy is tremendous."
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