Manchester United goalkeeper coach Eric Steele believes his charges are only now beginning to reach their best form.

"I have been here 10 weeks but I missed the nucleus of what I believe is the mainstay of your season and that is the pre- season," he told the Manchester Evening News.

"Edwin came back late because of his involvement in Euro 2008. Ben was injured in South Africa. All of a sudden you are looking at players who have missed the conditioning work. We have been playing catch-up and have used the international breaks to get them up to speed.

"We have sat down with Tony Strudwick, who is head of sports science at United, and his team and set about doing sessions to bring them up to speed.

"The keepers needed that. We have caught up and it is only in the last two or three weeks they are at the level I would have wanted them at in August."