... insists his side will be a major force in 2007. United beat in-form Spurs 3-1 and suddenly the injury problem that, let's not forget it is still there, suddenly isn't so much of disaster.
The youngsters in defence have come of age, and if there is a positive to come out of this crisis, that has been the benefit.
Roeder: "I was pleased with a good result and I was pleased with the performance in parts. People need to understand how difficult it was to achieve that result under the circumstances we have been playing under now for the last 10 weeks or so.
"I cannot give the whole squad enough credit because 10 or 12 weeks ago, we were not in a good position and I suppose we were looking over our shoulder. Now, we are only looking forward and above us with an aim of reaching as far up the league as we can, come the end of the season.
"We are at the halfway mark. I was demanding that we won today to get to 25 points halfway through the season.
"Where we were at the start of the season with the injuries we have have had to contend with, it is a fantastic achievement because the players recently have had every excuse to buckle under the amount of games and the amount of injuries.
"Footballers in the past have known at times to take any excuse available not to go out and fight for their lives. No-one dare accuse this lot of doing that."