Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson sees Paul Scholes being pivotal in this season's campaign.

"Paul brings an order to our game," said Ferguson. "His experience and his ability to control a match is a fundamental part of the way we play. His intelligence on a football field is terrific.

"Paul is not going to improve much now. We just hope, given the fact he has had some injuries over the last few years, that he can keep to a certain level and retain it for the next two years.

"I don't see any negatives or inferiority in his game and hopefully he can keep it going for a long time."

Scholes is still capable of delivering a killer blow, including one against Barcelona in last season's Champions League semi-final, but it is the overall contribution Ferguson is looking for now.

"You can't measure everything about him," Ferguson added. "Paul brings us other things because he is such a fantastic player."