Ashley Young has stressed that everyone in the Manchester United squad has contributed to compensate for the loss of experienced players last summer.
After a shaky start to the season, Manchester United have managed to steady the ship and their two back-to-back wins over Tottenham and Liverpool respectively have helped them to consolidate their position in the top four going into the business end of the season.
However, concerns were raised at the end of last season when a number of battle-hardened players left the club and though a summer of heavy spending followed, many felt Manchester United would feel the pinch of losing the collective experience of a few former players.
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is the most experienced player in the squad at the moment, but Young believes they needed more than their talismanic striker to fill the void left by the likes of Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra.
The winger said that as a senior player in the squad he had to step up, but stressed the squad collectively sought to fill the void of the characters that left the dressing room at the end of last season.
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"When you’ve got Vida, Rio and Evra leaving, individuals who were not only big characters but captains, people have to step up and take over that mantle", Young told the club’s official website.
"It has definitely happened. You give out more advice and try to help the youngsters along but it's everybody's job really. Everybody chips in.
"We’ve got one captain but, when we’re on the pitch, there are 11 captains and everyone wants to be pulling in the right direction and wanting to perform and do as we well as we can as a team.
“When you have got that on and off the pitch, it’s great."
Manchester United will look to consolidate their position in the top four with another win over Aston Villa this Saturday at Old Trafford.
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