Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has hailed the debut of Northern Irish defender Paddy McNair following Saturday's 2-1 victory over West Ham.
McNair, 19, was handed his Old Trafford bow by Louis van Gaal following injuries to Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones while Tyler Blackett was suspended after being sent off in the 5-3 defeat to Leicester City.
The United academy graduate made a crucial headed clearance in the closing minutes to guarantee the Red Devils only their second league win of the season and Rooney admits that he was impressed with the youngster's composure and ability to perform against a tough opponent.
"That was probably one of the bigger tests a young defender can face, up against a team putting in lots of crosses into the box, but he took it and stood up to it, especially in the second half," Rooney told the club's official website.
"It won't get much tougher in terms of physical strength and aggression against him, but he dealt with it and we are all delighted with him."
McNair's task was made all the more difficult following Rooney's red card and the United captain was relieved to see the young centre-half protect the three points late on when he cleared Enner Valencia's cross with a superb backwards header.
"I saw the clearance he made at the end," he added. "I thought he was tremendous for us."
McNair is one of seven academy graduates that Van Gaal has introduced into the first team this season and Rooney is glad to see that the club's long-held tradition of giving a chance to youth is still a highly-valued principle under the Dutch coach.
"Although we let Tom Cleverley go on loan and Danny Welbeck go to Arsenal, we have brought in a young Manchester lad in Tyler Blackett who played every game until Saturday," he said.
"The situation was forced on the manager but he has brought Paddy in and it's shown he isn't afraid to throw young players in."