Sunderland defender John O'Shea feels former club Manchester United are set for another era of dominance.

United's team this season has included young players like David de Gea, Danny Welbeck and Rafael, all 21, Tom Cleverley and Chris Smalling, both 22, and baby Phil Jones, 20.

The Sunderland ace said: "If you can win the League in a transitional stage, by giving younger players a chance to blood themselves in, then heaven help everyone else.

"The belief and experience they will get from winning the League will mean they will get better and better.

"It's not that United have been under par this season - because they have really showed their mettle when they had to - going back to February and early March when they won five and drew one of six difficult games.

"But this will be the making of a new team and even if City go out and spend God knows how many more millions on their team, nothing can take away from the fact that a group of young, talented players have grown up as men and as winners. Winning the league is priceless in terms of developing a team's spirit."