Former Manchester United youth boss Eric Harrison has hailed the work ethic of the Beckham generation.

Harrison says it isn't surprising to see so many of the 1992 FA Youth Cup winning team still playing now in their mis-30's.

He told the Manchester Evening news: "Talent is one thing but determination and dedication are the two extra watchwords that make the big difference.

"Unless you have dedication and determination then you will never have a career like those three guys.

"If any of them had been lacking in one of those departments then they wouldn't be still up where they are now. They were a very easy group to coach as a youth team. There were no slackers.

"It wasn't just the three who are still at United but it was Nicky Butt, Beckham, Phil Neville, Keith Gillespie and Robbie Savage, for example. They all put in the hours.

"The whole object in life was to play in Manchester United's first team and it drove them all on. Every single day it wasn't so much a battle to be top dog but they wanted to let me and the manager know that they were going places.

"It was a competitive atmosphere. There was no chance that you could drop your input and still think you could make it. If ever you thought you'd made it then you would be history at United. It wasn't a fear factor. They didn't come in every day scared to death but they knew the demands and responded.

"That environment built into them this attitude that has kept them going well into their 30s. I have seen some very, very talented players elsewhere who were naturally gifted but because they didn't have the dedication and determination to match they wasted their careers and finished earlier than they should have done.

"That's criminal. I cannot believe how stupid they would be to do that. Relying on your God-given talent alone is not enough at the very top of football.

"The work ethic and dedication is the whole ethos of Manchester United and why those players are still performing now at the age they are. I went over to see David Beckham in Milan and he says AC are exactly the same as United and is why a player like Paolo Maldini didn't retire until he was in his 40s.

"The training routines are fashioned around keeping the players going.

"It is no coincidence that so many of that United Class of '92 are still playing now past their mid-30s."