DAVID BECKHAM has gone � but the spirit at Manchester United remains as strong as ever.
That is the message from Nicky Butt, who insists the departure of England�s captain will do nothing to hamper the Old Trafford will to win. When Becks was sold to Real Madrid some claimed it was the beginning of the end of the United empire. Yet midfielder Butt is sure it will be business as usual, with the Red Devils eyeing yet more success next season. Butt, 28, said: �Bigger players have left in the past and will leave in the future. But the spirit will stay in the team because we still have a big group of players here who remain the heartbeat of the side. "Not just me, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and the Nevilles � but the likes of Roy Keane, who has been here 10 years, and Ole Solskjaer � who has been here seven years. �We have been together so long you know you can trust each other. You are confident that, whoever you sit next to in the dressing room, they have the right ability and spirit. �And on the pitch you get to know each other so well. I know if I give the ball to Paul Scholes he will perform some magic. �If Gary Neville is being challenged one-on-one he will defend the ball � and so on.� Phil Neville echoed Butt�s upbeat approach, adding: �David is a good friend and I still speak to him � but it is no different to when Eric Cantona or Bryan Robson left. �Manchester United will move on, as we have done in the past. Inside the club, we have ALREADY moved on.� With Becks training in the Far East with Real, Gary Neville � the best man at his wedding � is staring at life without his big pal. Yet, rather than the break-up of the famed United youth team Class of 92, it is the emergence of new talent that keeps the England right-back�s mind alive to the future. He said: �We all know that, one day, our time at this club will end. �But it was my dream as a youngster to play for United � and I will fight for every single minute while I�m at this club to make it last as long as I can. �I don�t feel under any threat. What excites me and reinvigorates me and gets me going are the lads coming through, like Darren Fletcher, David Bellion and Kieran Richardson, who want your place. �It gives the rest of us a new lease of life. �There has been a lot made of the break-up of the Class of 92 but we play for Manchester United as individuals � not as a group � and you just get on with it. �The spirit within the camp has been fantastic in pre- season � just as it has throughout my time at the club � and nothing that happens this summer will affect that.� The evidence of United�s pre-season so far does, indeed, suggest nothing has changed. Even in eight-a-side training matches the players have been delivering crunching tackles on each other, fighting for every ball and loudly demanding better. All of which will come as a shock to new-boys Bellion and Eric Djemba Djemba, Klebersen and Tim Howard � who will soon join up with the rest of the squad. Butt added: �Whether it is five-a-side or a Premiership match we are always competitive. That, for us, is the right way to go about it. �It will take time for new players to get used to that � but it shows them the high standards at this club. �The new players see the likes of Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs and Ruud van Nistelrooy working hard, tackling and swearing in training � and they know it is a very serious game they are in. �It is that spirit which sets us apart. We are really United together and we know what we are capable of. And if someone wants to beat us, we don�t like it.� Butt leaves us in no doubt as to where that steely approach comes from � boss Alex Ferguson. He added: �The gaffer will be competitive until his dying day. We could tell how excited he was by last season�s title triumph and we felt the same. We were 10 points behind Arsenal, not playing well and knew it was going to be hard to salvage. �But he told us it would be our best achievement if we did it � and we did. �When someone says they are going to go through a season unbeaten, like Arsenal did, it gives you a push and makes you want to beat them. There is no way we would have said anything like that.� However Butt and the lads want more. He admitted: �We want to be known as a great team. We�re a brilliant team, who have won loads of Championships. But you are recognised worldwide for what you do in the European Cup. �Over the last four or five years we should have won more than one.� So how about a dream final against Real � and Beckham? Butt, in typical fashion, added: �I could not care if we were playing against the Dog and Duck in the final � just as long as we win it!� ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------ Yahoo! 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