Ryan Giggs believes Manchester United will be heavily relying on their young players in their bid to win back the Premier League title.
United failed in their bid to claim a fourth straight title last season as Chelsea came out on top and Giggs believes that disappointment will make them stronger this time around.
However, Sir Alex Ferguson will not be spending the sort of money their rivals are this summer and Giggs accepts they will need to rely on youth.
Chris Smalling and Javier Hernandez have been added to the squad to provide further options at either end, while the likes of Jonny Evans, the Da Silva twins and strike duo Danny Wellbeck and Federico Macheda are likely to have parts to play.
However, rather than see it as a sign of United's demise, Giggs is looking forward to seeing what the latest crop of young stars can do.
"Last season we saw a lot of the young players featuring in the first team," he said.
"Nani had a good season, Antonio (Valencia) had a fantastic debut campaign, Kiko Macheda had a frustrating season with injuries and now Chris Smalling has come into the squad.
"Hopefully their determination and hunger will see them kick on this season and do even better, because we're going to need them," he added.
"The injuries we had in defence last season were unbelievable. We've strengthened with the arrival of Chris, and hopefully Rafael and Fabio can get through the season without the niggly injuries they've had.
"Hopefully these young players will get better and better, and I'm sure they will. They're exciting and they want to do well, which is great. I see their determination on the training ground.
"They want to do well, they're good lads. They want to learn, they want to play for United, get in the team and stay in. That's what we were like when we were younger and I see the same desire in these young players."
Giggs, who already has 11 Premier League titles to his name, admits everyone connected with United is desperate to snatch the top flight crown back from Stamford Bridge this season.
"I'm excited and looking forward to the new season," he said. "There is that added hunger when you haven't won the league the previous season.
"It's difficult when you're defending the title because you're champions and everyone wants to beat you. But there's also that determination when you don't win it to get it back, and having not won it last year, we're desperate to win it back."
