London, Aug 11 (DPA) He was loved and was hated, but even those who loathed him could hardly deny that Cristiano Ronaldo had a key part to play in Manchester United's latest hat-trick of Premier League successes.

A return of 66 league goals over those three seasons would be impressive for a central striker, but for somebody who spent most of their time operating on the wing it is phenomenal.

Inevitably, this pre-season has centred on whether United can cope without him, with United insisting, not surprisingly, that they can.

'It is important to be clear that Ronaldo did not make Manchester United,' said full-back Patrice Evra.

'Ronaldo was never the star at Manchester United. We are all stars and the boss would never let any one person believe he is the star.

'He was a good player for us and a very important one. But Manchester United was Manchester United before him and it is still Manchester United after him.'

Perhaps the key aspect of Ronaldo's departure, though, is less his knack of scoring, than that United were so set up to provide him with the opportunities.

Theirs for the last couple of seasons has been that most modern of styles: a centre-forward who drops deep, creating space for players cutting in from wide.

It worked also for Barcelona last season, as Samuel Eto'o dropped off, opening gaps for Leo Messi and Thierry Henry.

It was with Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney the season before last that United came closest to strikerlessness; but even with Dimitar Berbatov last season, there was no expectation that he should lead the line in a conventional sense.

This season, United have reverted to something rather more conventional, and in Sunday's Community Shield, while Nani on the left was clearly more advanced than Park Ji-Sung on the right, the shape was an orthodox 4-4-2, with Rooney playing off Berbatov.