Sky's the limit for trio

PICTURE OF YOUNG PLAYERS RECALLS 1932 IMAGE OF DEATH-DEFYING WAS FAVOURITE OF SIR ALEX WORKERS THAT

- SAMUEL LUCKHURST

YOU will recognise the photograph but maybe not its name. Sir Alex Ferguson would. Lunch Atop A Skyscraper, the image of 11 workers having a breather on a steel beam 800 feet high in Manhattan during the construction of the 70-storey RCA building at Rockefeller Centre in 1932, adorned Ferguson's office wall when he was the Manchester United manager.

Ferguson's affinity with New York dates back decades (he owns an apartment there) and he noticed the image is of 11 workers. An obvious parallel with the day job.

Apprentices at United would be ushered into Ferguson's office and the Scot would draw their attention to the picture. Cristiano Ronaldo evocatively recalls seeing it and being struck by the absence of a single safety harness.

That image came to mind as Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo assembled for United's second goal against West Ham. The only peril they were in was of tumbling a few feet into the terraces but the bond and unity was comparable with the New Yorkers.

Sator "The picture covered a lot, I think, of the three youngsters celebrating together," Erik ten Hag said on Sunday.

"It's not about one player, it's about a team. That's what I have seen today. It looked like a team. Eleven defending, 11 attacking. For me, it was enjoyable to watch."

Garnacho mimicked the West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus's celebration and described it as an "inspiration". But the similarity with an image captured almost a century ago is more relevant.

Ten Hag was free to pick his strongest United team in both fixtures last week. They won back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since November and racked up seven goals more than they had tallied in their previous six league matches.

The word "team" surfaced nine times at his post-match debrief.