Ronaldo - likely to be subjected to tauntsSir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Manchester United will not be calling for any additional security to safeguard Cristiano Ronaldo this season.
Ronaldo has already been verbally abused at Oxford after being singled out following England's World Cup exit to Portugal and more of the same can be expected at Charlton and Watford this week as Manchester United embark on their first away days of the new Premiership season.
So far, the 21-year-old has shown little sign of being affected by the barracking, scoring twice at Oxford, then another in United's friendly win over Sevilla last weekend when he received huge applause from the home fans.
Ferguson expects Ronaldo to remain untroubled. And, reflecting on previous occasions when United players have been singled out for negative treatment by opposition supporters, the Scot is convinced there is no need to fear the problem turning into a physical one.
"We don't need to shield Cristiano," said Ferguson.
"I don't think fans are that vicious in terms of needing security and safety.
"They may boo. That is no problem. Cristiano is mentally strong, so they can boo as long as they like.
"These situations are nothing new to us. We had it with Eric Cantona and David Beckham. They were burning effigies of David at West Ham immediately after the 1998 World Cup.
"We navigated it and so did David and we will do the same again."
Even though Wayne Rooney has pleaded for fans to lay off his young team-mate, insisting he bears no grudges for Ronaldo's behaviour as he was sent off in Gelsenkirchen, it seems certain there will be an adverse reaction to the Portugal star, fuelled by attacks from, amongst others, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Alan Shearer.
Yet, citing Cantona specifically, Ferguson thinks the taunts could backfire badly on those who deliver them.
"I remember an FA Cup tie at Sheffield United when Eric received some incredible abuse," said the United chief.
"Then he chipped the keeper and just turned around to look at the crowd as if to say 'You shouldn't have done that. It is naughty'. Quite often, supporters get paid back for things like that.
Aside from Ronaldo, and the ongoing battle to lure Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich, Ferguson's major focus is centred around ensuring his team remain in the thick of the title hunt throughout the season.
Points lost in the early months of last season proved costly in the chase to catch Chelsea and, handed a relatively easy start, Ferguson knows United must capitalise.
"The intention is for us to do well - and I think we will," he said.
"We are certainly better equipped to do well if we don't have those long-term injuries that killed a big opportunity for us to win the league last season.
"If could have stayed free of injury in those early weeks, I don't think we would have dropped those points which basically left us no margin for error once we got into the last few games.
"There is always some stage, late in the season, where you have an unexpected result but you need to have established yourself in a good position to be able to cope with that."
Ferguson does not think the challenge to Chelsea will just come from his own side either.
He recognises a stronger Liverpool outfit is emerging under Rafael Benitez, while Arsenal could also benefit from moving into their new Emirates Stadium.
"Chelsea have bought another team," laughed Ferguson, as he assessed the respective merits of United's major rivals.
"But Liverpool have bought five new players, Arsenal have their new stadium and then there is the promise of Tottenham.
"I really do think it will be much tighter this season."
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