Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with the role veteran Paul Scholes played in his side's 3-0 victory over Newcastle United on Monday night.
The Red Devils opened their Premier League campaign in fine style as Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs put the Magpies to the sword.
Scholes set up Berbatov and Giggs as the hosts responded to reigning champions Chelsea's 6-0 trouncing of West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and Ferguson admitted the win was the most important thing at this early stage of the campaign.
"He's got a marvellous passing range and vision of the game and he's still got the appetite for the game and that is the most important thing," he said.
"Anyone who gets to that age and retains that like he and Ryan Giggs you have got two players with something special.
"Tonight we saw Scholes producing some of it. He looks after himself and another important thing last year was first season without injury for a long, long time and that is key to Paul – stay fit and he can play on.
"The three points is always important in your first home match. For most of the game we controlled it, we passed the ball well at times. It was a steady performance.
"They got into the Premier League last season by being determined, good work ethic, good unit and we saw that tonight. They were difficult to break down at times."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
