Sir Alex: Prolific strikers will bring title back to Old Trafford

Sir Alex Ferguson is banking on Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie to help the Reds re-claim the Premier League trophy from City.

United lost out on goal difference in last season's thrilling title race after finishing level on points with City.

It prompted Ferguson to spend £24m in the summer to bring Van Persie to Old Trafford from Arsenal.

And the United manager believes that if both his star strikers can pass the 20-goal mark this season, City's grip on the Premier League crown will be short-lived.

“I always say this, if you can get two or three goal scorers with over 20 goals, you are definitely in business and you should be challenging for everything,” said Ferguson in a special interview with ESPN.

“At the moment I think Wayne Rooney is still to find his goal-scoring form.

“He missed the start of the season with his fitness which was not great, then he had tonsillitis and missed a couple of games.

“When we get through December we will find that Wayne will weigh in with a few goals.

“When Robin came he hadn’t played any games so the fitness situation wasn’t ideal, but he weighed in with goals and that was a real bonus for us and he is getting better and better all the time.

“He has a fantastic footballbrain, that is the one thing that we knew when we were going for him that here is a mature player with a great football brain.

“Strikers are rare birds because they only think about goal scoring as their main aspect of life.

“If they are not scoring then they think they are playing terrible, and when they are scoring they are the kings of the castle, its two ends of the spectrum with them. I was a striker myself and I was exactly the same.”

United face City for the first time since being pipped to the title at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Ferguson had a touchline spat with his opposite number Roberto Mancini there last season but whatever the outcome in the blue half of Manchester this weekend, the 70-year-old insists that he’ll be happy to share a drink with the Italian afterwards.

Fergie said: “I think that once the game is over you have to accept that the other team are sharing the same emotions and desires and expectations as yourself.

“If you lose then you have to show you are capable of forgetting what has happened out on the field by sharing a glass of wine and a chat.”

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Source: ManchesterEveningNews