Louis van Gaal lauded the kids for providing Manchester United a much-needed kick as their season finally begins to shape up.
The Dutchman has blooded plenty of new faces over the past few weeks because of chronic injury problems.
That came as United lurched from one disaster to the next, yet the collection of youngsters have offered renewed vigour.
Marcus Rashford is one of several youngsters to have taken their opportunity in recent games at United
The emergence of Marcus Rashford over the last seven days has given Van Gaal another boost, while Tim Fosu-Mensah handled Watford expertly on Wednesday night.
Juan Mata’s free-kick stung the Hornets at Old Trafford and leaves United level on points with Manchester City in the race for Champions League qualification
The manager paid tribute to his young stars.
‘I think the youngsters give us a lot of spirit,’ Van Gaal said. ‘You see the joy, all the players are laughing and it’s beautiful to see. It shall accelerate the recoveries of the players.’
United have 11 first-team players sidelined going into Sunday’s game at West Brom, with only Chris Smalling likely to return from a shoulder knock.
Juan Mata finally broke the deadlock with a sweet curling free-kick in the final seven minutes at Old Trafford
Defender Tim Fosu-Mensah made his full first-team debut against Quique Sanchez Flores' side
It means Van Gaal will have to go with a similar starting XI and place his faith in a side with an average age of little over 23.
Ander Herrera agreed with his manager and thinks the teenagers have had a huge influence in their upturn.
‘We are showing passion, we fight to the end,’ he said. ‘We show when we don't play good we can win. I think that the attitude is very good, the young players are helping us.
‘This month is very important, getting some players back to the team and I am optimistic because we can still fight for everything.’
Van Gaal believes United are finding form at just the right time.
‘We are fighting and we are struggling but, in the struggle, we can play fantastic matches,’ he added.
Ander Herrera believes the depleted squad have benefited from the influx of youngsters in the starting line-up
Mata captained the side on Wednesday night and he provided the one moment of class to seal the three points
United are now level on 47 points with rivals City
‘The performance was not so good, no. It was very difficult to play good football and it became a physical game.
‘When you see the size of the players of Watford and our size, we are not in a beneficial situation, so I have to give compliments to my players.
'Watford pressed high, we gave the ball away and they had chances but Timothy has saved us several times because of his speed, so I was pleased he was on the pitch. He wanted to go off but I wanted him to stay on.’
Van Gaal congratulates full-back Guillermo Varela after another impressive performance against the Hornets
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