After picking up just two points from their opening three games, the Barclays Premier League champions have collected a maximum nine from their next three.

So, with major title rivals Chelsea due at Old Trafford next Sunday, four days after United open their Champions League campaign against Sporting Lisbon, it appears they are hitting form at just the right time.

"We know we started the season badly," admitted Vidic.

"The confidence was a little bit low after the first couple of games.

"But now we have three wins and we are improving every game, so hopefully we can do much better next time."

Yet the Serbian's optimism, fuelled by his 83rd-minute header which brought United a third successive single-goal win, needs to be tempered slightly.

On their last visit to a ground where they have now won on 13 of their 16 Premier League trips, Sir Alex Ferguson's men overhauled a two-goal deficit by scoring four times in a magnificent second half which proved pivotal in their championship quest.

Since then, the Red Devils have played 11 competitive games in which they have not scored more than once.

It is an amazing statistic for a club who boasted by far the most prolific top-flight strikeforce last term.

Indeed, while United briefly hit the Premier League summit for 45 minutes until Liverpool collected a point at Portsmouth, if there was a table for goalscorers, they would be scrapping to avoid relegation, with only Reading and basement dwellers Derby below them.

The return of Wayne Rooney in Portugal should aid the recovery but Carlos Tevez is still to even look like scoring since his protracted move from West Ham.

And while the Argentina striker excelled at times against the Toffees, it was always after he had dropped deep, effectively leaving either Ryan Giggs or Cristiano Ronaldo as a central striker, something neither man is accustomed to.

For the second game running, United's victory moment followed the introduction of Louis Saha, although the Frenchman looked someway short of match sharpness and it was easy to see why Ferguson started with him on the bench.

"It wasn't a great performance but it was a decent one," agreed Ferguson.

"It looked to me as though it was going to end in a draw until we got the lifeline of Nemanja's goal."

Although the contest was competitive and fast moving, until Vidic rose to power home Nani's corner United had carved out just one decent opportunity, when Tevez combined brilliantly with Ryan Giggs to set up Paul Scholes, who volleyed over.

Ferguson can justifiably point to a few reasons for his side's general failure in front of goal, including a Saturday lunchtime kick-off in a week when Tevez had a midweek engagement in Melbourne, plus the injury problems of Rooney and Saha and Ronaldo's recent suspension.

Yet privately, the Scot must be disappointed by United's current goal threat even if, in a results business, his side have put their early-season difficulties behind them and a win away at Everton is something to be hugely proud of.

"It is a massive result," said goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

"Okay, we are not scoring so easily but the main thing is the defence and midfield are tight and we are not conceding."

While he was hardly likely to complain about the result, Ferguson was less than happy with the performance of referee Alan Wiley, who booked Ronaldo for diving and Scholes for his reaction to a handball decision the United boss was convinced the official had not seen.

Given Scholes subsequently wiped out Mikel Arteta, the former England star came perilously close to a red card which would have ruled him out of the key clash with Chelsea.

"I was concerned about Paul picking up a second booking," admitted Ferguson.

"The first yellow was ridiculous. The referee's view was blocked but he heard the crowd and gave a yellow card.

"And I think he booked Cristiano because he thought he might have to give a penalty.

"The tackle (by Leon Osman) was outside the box but the decision gets the referee out of jail. It was a bad decision, a terrible decision."