Ferguson looking for Rooney to blossom in front of goal

While the England striker's work-rate has not been in question this season, he has struggled to regularly find the target.

However, a brace in the victory against Aston Villa on Tuesday, only his fourth and fifth goals of the campaign, suggest he could be ready to kick on.

That could spell bad news for bottom-club Wolves who face the unbeaten Barclays Premier League leaders at Molineux this evening.

Ferguson said: "Hopefully – and there's every chance with scoring the kind of goals he scored the other night – he'll take off.

"Goalscorers are like that and hopefully that's what we're going to see with Wayne. He's got 14 league games, European games and FA Cup games – he could easily get a good average.

"Last season he was very consistent – in previous years he has scored in clutches of five or six games. But if he can get the consistency of last season then we are going to benefit from that."

With Dimitar Berbatov scoring regularly and new recruit Javier Hernandez chipping in as well with some vital goals, some of the heat has been taken off Rooney.

Ferguson, though, stresses that there is much more to Rooney's game than just goals.

"What Wayne has always had is a fantastic energy to play in a game," said the United boss.

"He's always committed to doing his best. The bonus is, as we saw the other night, he got two goals."

United are looking to extend their unbeaten run to 30 league games stretching back to last season – a club record – but according to Darren Fletcher regaining the title is the detail that counts.

"It has been a rollercoaster. There have been times when we've thought it (the run) was gone and then we've come back late in games," said the Scotland midfielder.

"Everyone keeps talking about the unbeaten run. It's fantastic and gives you confidence knowing you're on this run and looking to set a new club record."