Source: Daily_Mail
Sir Alex Ferguson banks on Wayne Rooney to deliver goals again
Sir Alex Ferguson is crossing his fingers Wayne Rooney's wonder goal in last week's derby will trigger a scoring burst for the Manchester United striker.[LNB]Rooney has still only scored six times this season, although his ratio has improved since his first goal from open play, at West Brom on New Year's Day.[LNB]However, given his magnificent overhead kick at Old Trafford has been labelled by some as the best goal ever at the stadium, Rooney's confidence is clearly going to be soaring.[LNB] Would Roo look at that: the United striker lit up Old Trafford with a memorable derby winner [LNB]And, with a return to Champions League action in Marseille following immediately after tomorrow's FA Cup clash with non-league Crawley, Ferguson is expecting big things from the 25-year-old.[LNB]'Up until last season Wayne used to go on these scoring bursts,' said Ferguson.[LNB]CRAWLEY ACE McFADZEAN RELISHES ROONEY BATTLE Crawley Town defender Kyle McFadzean is relishing the prospect of coming up against England striker at Old Trafford on Saturday.[LNB]With a Champions League match in Marseille in midweek to think about, Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to name a second-string XI for the game with the Blue Square Premier side.[LNB]Should Wayne Rooney make it on to the pitch though, 23-year-old McFadzean admits he will have a tough afternoon.[LNB]'How would I deal with him? I don't know really,' he said.[LNB]'All the top-class defenders struggle against him so it won't be easy. If it doesn't work, I'll just have to kick him or something.[LNB]'He is a great player. We all saw it with that over-head kick against Man City.' [LNB]'He used to do it in five or six games in a row and then go missing in terms of goals for a few games and then come back again.[LNB]'I would be quite happy for him to go on a burst now because we have some really important games coming up.'[LNB]That list of fixtures includes visits to Wigan and Liverpool, which will be split by a trip to Chelsea should Carlo Ancelotti's men fail against Everton at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]It is one of the reasons why Ferguson is giving such careful consideration to his line-up on Saturday, with Rooney highly unlikely to start.[LNB]Instead, Javier Hernandez is expected to get another chance to further his education after scoring the winner at Southampton in the previous round.[LNB]The Mexican has enjoyed a brilliant first season at United, hitting the net on 11 occasions.But Ferguson concedes Hernandez is a better substitute at present as he gets used to the sheer pace of the English game.[LNB]'That is possibly true at this moment in time,' said Ferguson.[LNB]'Javier's training performances have improved tremendously in the last couple of months. His work-rate and practice ethic have been very good.[LNB]'He comes in early and stays behind. He has done very well in that sense and is improving all the time. He is a great impact player.'[LNB]The comparison with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is obvious and not one Ferguson refrains from.[LNB]'I did the same with Solskjaer,' he said. 'When I was picking teams in really important games I always tended to dismiss Ole simply because as an impact player from the bench there was nobody better.[LNB]'Sometimes you have to choose your team that way particularly in difficult games. If you know it's going to be tight, being able to bring an impact player on can make a difference.'[LNB] Eye on the ball: Hernandez (left) has made a promising start to his United career [LNB]Solskjaer was also wedded to the traditions of United, which explained why he never agitated for a move despite being overlooked as often as he was.[LNB]The reward came with that never-to-be-forgotten Champions League final winner against Bayern Munich in 1999.[LNB]Hernandez can only dream of such glory at present, but alongside Rooney, 20-goal Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen, whose groin strain suffered in training on Monday is not as serious as had been feared, Ferguson feels he has similar striking strength to those days.[LNB]'It's not easy to choose,' admitted the Scot.[LNB]'But it's the type of problem I had in '99 with Cole, Yorke, Sheringham and Solskjaer.[LNB] United they stand: Fergie had trouble fitting Solskjaer, Yorke, Sherignham and Cole in his line-up[LNB]'It's exactly the same when you are trying to decide when players need a rest or when they should be left out.[LNB]'Those four were different class. Hernandez is still young and learning all the time but having him on the bench is fantastic back-up. Michael Owen is the same.[LNB]'The situation is the same, it's just a different type of player.'[LNB]Ferguson has pledged to play a similar strength side to the one he used at Southampton, which points towards the introduction of Gabriel Obertan and Bebe.[LNB][LNB] Injured Owen out of Crawley clash but could return in midweek, says Fergie United confident Evra will sign deal to end speculation over Real Madrid moveFerdinand praises retired Neville and says United 'funny' man will be missedEvans won't turn soft on eve of facing the 'master' in FA Cup clash at Old TraffordAll the latest manchester United news, features and opinion [LNB] Explore more:People: Alex Ferguson, Michael Owen, Gabriel Obertan, Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Bebe, Carlo Ancelotti Places: Liverpool, United Kingdom
