Sir Alex Ferguson revealed that he challenged Federico Macheda to prove he was worthy of a place on the Manchester United bench against Aston Villa last Sunday.
Having seen the 17-year-old excel in training, Ferguson told reserve-team boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær to offer Macheda a place on the bench against Villa if he turned in a decent performance at Newcastle last Monday.
The young Italian responded in spectacular style as he bagged a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw against the Toon's reserves.
Ferguson was true to his word and Macheda made it a debut to remember when he came off the bench to curl home a superb injury-time winner to ensure a valuable three points for the champions and put them back on top of the table.
"I got Ole to tell him last Monday he might be on the bench yesterday," Ferguson told journalists. "He scored a hat-trick.
"That formed part of my decision to bring him on ahead of Danny Welbeck. To play under pressure in front of 76,000 is a big ask.
"But I have seen him in training and at reserve team games and how he handles certain situations.
"But young players get challenged at this club. It was a late goal but for one like that you would wait until the very last kick because it was so good."
The 67-year-old boss must now try and keep Macheda's feet on the ground but it is something he has grown accustomed to over the years.
He added: "Everyone likes to read nice things about themselves.
"But you need a certain kind of attitude to deal with all the adulation.
"The good thing is there are plenty of examples of that with all the players we have had at Manchester United. It is part of their make-up."
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Having seen the 17-year-old excel in training, Ferguson told reserve-team boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær to offer Macheda a place on the bench against Villa if he turned in a decent performance at Newcastle last Monday.
The young Italian responded in spectacular style as he bagged a hat-trick in the 3-3 draw against the Toon's reserves.
Ferguson was true to his word and Macheda made it a debut to remember when he came off the bench to curl home a superb injury-time winner to ensure a valuable three points for the champions and put them back on top of the table.
"I got Ole to tell him last Monday he might be on the bench yesterday," Ferguson told journalists. "He scored a hat-trick.
"That formed part of my decision to bring him on ahead of Danny Welbeck. To play under pressure in front of 76,000 is a big ask.
"But I have seen him in training and at reserve team games and how he handles certain situations.
"But young players get challenged at this club. It was a late goal but for one like that you would wait until the very last kick because it was so good."
The 67-year-old boss must now try and keep Macheda's feet on the ground but it is something he has grown accustomed to over the years.
He added: "Everyone likes to read nice things about themselves.
"But you need a certain kind of attitude to deal with all the adulation.
"The good thing is there are plenty of examples of that with all the players we have had at Manchester United. It is part of their make-up."
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