New Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea was given a harsh welcome to the Premier League against West Brom, with manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitting the Spanish Under-21 star "should have done better".
The 20-year-old let a straight forward Shane Long shot squirm under his body on his league debut at the Hawthorns and, after condeing twice to Manchester City in last week's Charity Shield, Ferguson believes his No.1 still has a long way to go.
Ferguson told Sky Sports: "David should have done better. I think he’s lost a bit of concentration there, but welcome to English football because he took a battering in the second-half.
“He should have been protected more by the referee – he wasn’t – and on this occasion he has to withstand it. It’s a good experience for him.
“My recollection of goalkeepers coming from Europe is there’s a learning process, it’s a different game.
“Peter Schmeichel was the same when he came, Wimbledon in his first away game on a Wednesday night and they gave him a torrid time.
“But Peter came on to become the greatest goalkeeper of all time possibly. The boy is 20 years of age, you suspect a learning process to be in operation at the moment and he’ll see it through.”
When asked how he will help De Gea get over his errors, Ferguson added: "Just pat him on the head.”
United took the lead through Wayne Rooney before Long's equalier, but won it late on through an Steven Reid own goal.
It was an Ashley Young run down the left which resulted in the Reid own goal and Ferguson was full of praise for his £18 million summer signing from Aston Villa.
“Yes, he’s got good composure on the ball, not just crossing but his interplay with the rest of the players," Ferguson added.
"He made a goal for Wayne [Rooney] from a good pass and he was a threat all the time.
“He had a few crosses blocked, but when he decided to go the opposite way and go towards the by-line he was an instant threat.
"The first 25 minutes I thought we were superb, moving the ball was great, the interplay, the speed of play was great.
“Then for some reason we started to slow the build-up to a level where we lost the momentum, then we lost a goal."
Ferguson reserved special praise for goalscorer Rooney, who notced his first goal of the season.
“He’s looking great, he was fantastic today, he was all over the place,” he said.
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