Ruud reawakening gives refreshed Ferguson reason to believe again

One day, when Sir Alex Ferguson reveals all the reasons behind the shelving of his retirement plans, it may emerge that the important ones are not nearly so complicated as some analysts of the Manchester United manager's pysche would have the world believe. Look beneath the politics that goes with being the most powerful figure in British football and there is still an essential enthusiasm for the game and its players.

He was reminded of it in Nantes last week, just as it seemed another evening of high expectation in Europe was about to end in frustration and disappointment. Ruud van Nistelrooy was the player responsible, not just because it was his goal, from the penalty spot in stoppage time, that salvaged a Champions' League point where three looked to have been lost, but because of the manner in which he scored it, against a goalkeeper who had appeared to be unbeatable.

"The way their goalkeeper was playing I thought he'd save it," Ferguson said. "Then I saw Ruud taking his run at it and I said to myself 'That's in the bag, that's in'. His ruthlessness at hitting that ball was great. He seems to be so calm. He doesn't seem to get nervous before games or anything. The way he took that penalty kick was marvellous."

The goal was the Dutch striker's 27th in his debut season, an extraordinary record given the leap in standards he needed to negotiate on joining United, not to mention the serious injury that preceded it.

Even Denis Law, against whose record all United strikers must be measured and to whom a statue was unveiled at Old Trafford yesterday, needed a season properly to find his feet. His progress has surprised even his manager, who admitted on Friday that his excitement over what may still be to come from the former PSV Eindhoven player has made him glad he will be around to witness it.

"I didn't expect quite so much from him this season," he said. "I was expecting to have to leave him out at some points but in October he just started to gain a yard or two, to blossom, to show what he is at the moment – and he's even getting better. On Wednesday night he could have scored seven goals.

"He's exceeded expectations for his first season. When we signed him I said he'd take two years to reach his best and I still think that because he's developing parts of his game. Seeing his progress is one of the things I'm looking forward to."

Ferguson has admitted that his decision to retire disrupted the unity of the team earlier in the season. Looking back, he acknowledges he was probably wrong to announce he would be going so far in advance. Now, though, he feels the team are back on track following his change of heart. He says there are just a few details of his new contract to be ironed out and expects to sign soon when chief executive Peter Kenyon returns from a skiing holiday.

"Perhaps we lost our unity when I announced I would be leaving front-line management," he said in yesterday's programme notes. "I simply wanted to give time to find the right replacement. But it is in the past, at least for the next three seasons, and we are all united again. I know where I'm going and I hope my decision will make it easier for our players to travel the same road with a common purpose."

Ferguson feels he is healthy and ambitious enough to carry on for another three years. "I know I constantly ask my players if they are still hungry and ambitious for more success – pointless questions if I wasn't able to say that I had lost none of my own.

"Fifteen years at the head of a major club like United is a long time, and it was this that probably persuaded me initially that I should go because it is a demanding job. But with my health good as the season gathered pace, I realised I was as keen and eager as ever."

How quickly Ferguson can look forward to regaining Europe's premier crown remains a matter for conjecture. Last week's result in France, where Van Nistelrooy was deployed as a lone striker, attracted fresh criticism of Ferguson's tactics and anything less than a decisive victory when the French champions visit Old Trafford on Tuesday will raise doubts over United's ability to survive the second phase.

Yet Ferguson remains robust in defence of his methods and his reasoning, insisting that 4-5-1 is the system to employ in Europe, irrespective of what 4-4-2 has achieved in revitalising United's domestic campaign. Opponents of the single-striker formation believe it restricts the effectiveness of certain players, most notably Juan Sebastian Veron, as well as Paul Scholes and Roy Keane. Ferguson believes a five-man midfield offers flexibility and protection.

In any event, he said on Friday, the performance in Nantes was hardly a failure, even if it did not achieve the desired result. "There was criticism because everybody expected us to beat Nantes. But my assessment before the game was right – they don't lose goals and they don't score goals. Their record is there for everyone to see.

"The attacking part of our display in Nantes was very good. We had 17 strikes on goal, 10 on target – phenomenal. You'd be more concerned to go away from home and not create a chance. The Nantes goalkeeper was fantastic but that can happen. A goalkeeper can have a night like that."

Now that the twin demands of chasing domestic and European glory are back, so too are the associated problems, not least over who to rest and when. Deciding whether to pick Van Nistelrooy to face Aston Villa yesterday presented a dilemma. A more comfortable position in the Premiership might help but Ferguson disagrees. He believes a more competitive battle on the home front will help his players retain their sharpness.

"The only team who have dominated in the Champions' League are Real Madrid and maybe they have benefited from being in a competitive league," he said. "We were making changes before European games last season and the year before because we had a cushion in the League. We can't afford to do that now but perhaps the edge that gives us can be beneficial."