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Sir Alex Ferguson has much to ponder during his nine-day stay in New York during the international break.

Ferguson, who has an apartment in the Big Apple, where his eldest son Mark lives, will have had plenty of time to reflect, during the seven-hour flight, on Manchester United's latest great escape.

Robin van Persie proved the wisdom of his signing with the hat-trick which salvaged a customary breathtaking late win for Ferguson's side away at Southampton on Sunday.

United are the masters of such dramatic finales, van Persie slotting straight into that mindset with two last-gasp goals to underline just why Sir Alex Ferguson was prepared to pay £24million for the 29-year-old striker.

Yet lost amid the eulogies for van Persie's match-winning contribution were the glaring deficiencies within Ferguson's side that are already threatening to undermine United's pursuit of a 20th league title.

While van Persie may have needed no time to settle in, the worrying aspect for United is further back, in midfield and defence, where they looked vulnerable against Southampton, just as they did the week before in the second-half against Fulham, before winning 3-2.

Both full-backs, Rafael and Patrice Evra, were left exposed on several occasions and at fault for the goals United conceded, while in midfield United lacked the guile, energy and purpose of their newly-promoted opponents.

(Image: Jamie McDonald)

That it took Paul Scholes, who turns 38 in November, to come off the bench and turn the game in United's favour, also says everything about the lack of dynamism among the midfield personnel Ferguson started with at St Mary's.

While buying van Perise and Shinji Kagawa look astute pieces of business, Ferguson's decision not to strengthen in other areas, notably the two full-back slots and central midfield, already looks negligent.

Injuries to Phil Jones and Chris Smalling have left Rafael and, occasionally, Antonio Valencia, as Ferguson's only options at right-back, but the United manager's decision not to recruit a replacement for Evra seems a remarkable oversight.

While Evra has been a great servant for United for the past six years, hardly missing a game since taking over the left-back slot from Gabriel Heinze in the 2006-07 season, the France international was too often a liability last term.

United were keen on bringing in Leighton Baines, but were put off by Everton's £20million valuation of the England international. With £41million already committed to the purchase of van Persie and Kagawa, United's finances simply wouldn't stretch that far.

So Ferguson brought in a virtual unknown left-back in Vitesse Arnhem's Alexander Buttner, a far cheaper option than Baines at £3.9m, but a player who seems destined to act as cover for Evra, rather than the replacement that was required.

(Image: John Peters)

Buttner may thrive at United and prove a worthy challenger to Evra's first-team status, but given he was supposedly rated as only the fourth or fifth-best left-back in the Dutch league, that seems unlikely.

United needed a left-back of stature to replace Evra, just as they still require a commanding presence in central midfield, with Michael Carrick competent but lacking a real cutting edge, Tom Cleverley and Anderson injury-prone, and Scholes and Ryan Giggs now just bit-part players.

Rumours circulated on transfer deadline day of a late United attempt to hijack Tottenham's £15m move for Moussa Dembele, who excelled at Old Trafford in Fulham's narrow defeat to United, driving his side forward from central midfield.

Dembele is just the kind of player United need in the middle- combative, energetic, great vision and passing ability, as well as a goal threat - but any move by Ferguson came too late as he completed his move to Spurs.

By pushing Manchester City all the way last season, against a backdrop of crippling injuries, United proved their enduring ability to last the distance, despite the myriad of obstacles they faced.

(Image: Shaun Botterill)

In many ways, given the deficiencies within their squad, United over-achieved last season, matching City's points total of 89 by a collective resolve and sheer force of will as much as anything else. Given those inherent traits, they are likely to be in the mix again this season.

But last season's trophy-less campaign should have seen Ferguson ensure he addressed the key areas of his squad that required attention. Van Persie and Kagawa are excellent signings, but the squad required deeper surgery than that.

For if United continue to defend as ineptly as they did at Southampton and cede the midfield initiative so obligingly, there are only so many times van Persie will be able to bail them out.

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Read David McDonnell's Manchester United column exclusively on MirrorFootball every Tuesday