Source: Team_Talk
United duo hail Berbatov's form
Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher have both hailed the impact Dimitar Berbatov has had on Manchester United's season so far.[LNB] Having scored the hat-trick that catapulted him into Old Trafford folklore against Liverpool last weekend, United are now looking to the Bulgarian for more heroics in Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday.[LNB]A sign of how seriously United are taking their trip to the Mestalla was shown in Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to sidestep Wednesday's Carling Cup trip to Scunthorpe to watch Valencia's Primera Division encounter with Atletico Madrid.[LNB]Drawing their opening game with Rangers has left the Red Devils with ground to make up, which is why it is so handy that Berbatov is a man in top form.[LNB]"Dimitar was sharp in pre-season and his overall play has been really good," Giggs told MUTV.[LNB]"He is getting in the box a lot more and proving what a quality finisher he is.[LNB]"He scored goals at Tottenham and scored them at international level. Now he is doing it for us on a regular basis."[LNB]Berbatov has admitted himself that his club-record £30.75million price tag was been a burden at times since his move north from Tottenham two years ago.[LNB]However, Sir Alex Ferguson took the Bulgarian aside for a chat during the summer and told him to ignore his many detractors.[LNB]And Fletcher has seen a sharper team-mate since the first day of pre-season training.[LNB]"We have always known what a fantastic player he is," said Fletcher.[LNB]"He has great ability and came back this summer in really good shape.[LNB]"He worked tremendously hard in the gym on his fitness and now he is on fire during matches.[LNB]"As we saw on Sunday (against Liverpool), he is staying in those goalscoring positions and we are getting the benefit of that.[LNB]"He can still drop in the hole when he needs to but he is also getting in the box on a regular basis.[LNB]"The more he does that, the more goals he will get and the more confidence he will have. Long may that continue."[LNB]With a trip to Bolton to consider as well, Ferguson will doubtless be shuffling his team around over the coming days.[LNB]His whistle-stop visit to Spain last week suggest Valencia will be given priority, which should mean starts for Paul Scholes and probably Giggs given Antonio Valencia's horrific injury robs Ferguson of pace in wider areas.[LNB]Yet it should not be forgotten that against Bayern Munich in last season's quarter-final, Ferguson selected Darron Gibson and was rewarded with probably the best 45-minute display of United's entire season.[LNB]Certainly Giggs does not view the options at Ferguson's disposal as being a particular problem.[LNB]"Putting five goals past Scunthorpe on Wednesday says a lot about the strength of the squad," he said.[LNB]"When that draw was made a lot of people felt that could be a sticky game for us coming so soon after the Liverpool game.[LNB]"But the lads who played did really well, especially after going a goal down.[LNB]"It just shows the strength and quality we have at this club."
