[alex18122003]

Despite a 3-0 win over Aalborg, former England defender Paul Parker is yet to be convinced by Manchester United's early season form.

"Three wins out of three, Wayne Rooney is back on goalscoring form and Dimitar Berbatov has opened his goal account - after a shaky start to the season, things are starting to look up for United.

Or are they?

I'm still not entirely convinced the champions have hit their stride yet. Just over two weeks ago I said there was still more to come from them and, despite the recent upturn in fortunes, that view has not changed.

United's win over AaB Aalborg in the Champions League capped off a run of three wins and two draws - including one away at Chelsea - in all competitions, but for me performances are just as important as results.

Forget about the three points, there's nothing better than a good performance to give players the confidence they need to go and win the next match.

And on the pitch over the past few weeks United have failed to demonstrate that they are the finished article quite yet.

Take the game in Denmark. United gave the ball away cheaply and did not convince against one of the poorest sides in the competition. That the Danish side have Marek Saganowski - a player who could not even make the grade in the Championship - leading their line speaks volumes.

If it had been Arsenal playing at the Energi Nord Arena, the Danish champions would have ended up on the receiving end of a mauling - but United never threatened to do that.

They gave the ball away far too cheaply when they should have been dominating possession and giving Aalborg the run-around.

We've seen it before and United's away form in the competition still worries me. And with trips to Celtic Park and Villarreal still to come, it's not going to get any easier for them. Ferguson can definitely expect more of a battle in Scotland and Spain than the one his side got in Denmark.

But it was good to see Berbatov get on the scoresheet, although his muted celebrations after having found the back of the net were a little odd. His reaction to the first in particular was akin to that of a player who has just netted the sixth goal in an FA Cup drubbing of a lower league minnow, not his first in a United shirt in a Champions League game.

He still seems to be trying to understand what it means to score for a club like United. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to scoring in a 'bigger' Premier League game.

One other pleasing aspect of the game was the introduction of Rafael Da Silva in my old position at right-back. The young Brazilian did well enough and, although on occasion he is too keen to go to ground, he seems to pose a real threat coming forward.

That is something that Wes Brown doesn't really give United, although I don't agree that the England man has been overtaken in the pecking order by Rafael. I know the boss had said he would not experiment with his side in such an important game, but the Brazilian got the nod ahead of Wes purely because it was as good a time as any to give him a run out. I'm sure Wes will be back in the starting line-up for the next game.

Rafael was not born to defend - he was born to run at defences with the ball at his feet - but with coaching, the defensive side of his game can only improve. And at United, the boy is in the best possible place to make that happen."