Sir Alex Ferguson hailed the influence of veteran midfielder Paul Scholes, as he orchestrated two out of the three goals scored against Newcastle United on Monday night. The boss said Scholesy, at 35, still hasn't lost his aura...

United hit three goals past Newcastle at Old Trafford on Monday, with Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs the three names on the score-sheet. But it wasn't any of those names that received man-of-the-match, instead it was Scholes - the man responsible for Berba and Fletcher's goals.

Speaking after the 3-0 win, boss Sir Alex said: "Last week he showed at his age you don't lose what he's got. He's got a marvellous passing range and vision of the game and he's still got the appetite for the game and that is the most important thing."

"Anyone who gets to that age and retains that like he and Ryan Giggs you have got two players with something special. Tonight we saw Scholes producing some of it. He looks after himself and another important thing last year was first season without injury for a long, long time and that is key to Paul - stay fit and he can play on."

"The three points is always important in your first home match," added the gaffer. "For most of the game we controlled it, we passed the ball well at times. It was a steady performance. They got into the Premier League last season by being determined, good work ethic, good unit and we saw that tonight."

"They were difficult to break down at times. We were wasteful with some chances. Dimitar Berbatov could have scored three or four, but his performance was excellent."