VIDIC SALUTES 'GREAT' ROONEY

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Rooney: Hair today, gone tomorrow

Rooney passed the 30-goal barrier with his brace against AC Milan in midweek and a good number of those strikes have come from his head.

In fact he had scored seven successive headers until he finished off Nani's cross for United's second on Wednesday night.

It is to the 24-year-old's credit he had fun at his own expense as he came up with a novel reason for the excellent run of form.

"It's coming off my bald patch and that's helping me score," quipped Rooney.

"I have been working on my heading a lot and thankfully it's paying off."

Rooney is now being backed to beat Cristiano Ronaldo's phenomenal 42-goal tally from two years ago but the striker himself is not setting any targets.

However the one thing Rooney does want is to secure a place in the hearts of Manchester United's fans the way David Beckham did.

Beckham was afforded a standing ovation when he made his way onto the Old Trafford pitch on Wednesday and then received an even more emotional reception as he made his way off the field following AC Milan's four-goal trouncing.

United supporters will never forget Beckham's contribution to six Premier League titles and that unprecedented treble-winning campaign in 1999.

And, having previously declared no interest in wishing to leave United, Rooney hopes to be held in similar affection by the Red Devils faithful.

"David Beckham was a great servant for this club and we were all delighted with the reception," said Rooney.

"I have plenty of years ahead of me but if I can get half the plaudits he has I will be very happy."

Sir Alex Ferguson is bound to make changes to his starting line-up against Fulham on Sunday, with Rooney among those who might stand down considering he is still troubled by a knee injury.

Michael Carrick is available following a European suspension, whilst there is also a chance that Ryan Giggs will be involved after he returned to training after having a plate removed from the arm he broke at Aston Villa last month.

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Nemanja Vidic has hailed Wayne Rooney as the best striker in the world - but the Manchester United defender longs for the chance to try and stop him.

Vidic and Rooney will be united in a common cause from now until May 22, when they hope to be helping Manchester United to Champions League glory in Madrid.

After that though, national pride takes precedence in South Africa, where both England and Serbia will compete for the World Cup.

And it has not escaped Vidic's notice that his own side could meet Rooney's in the first knockout round. A contest to relish, in every sense.

"Wayne is definitely the best striker in the world," said Vidic.

"This year he has been great, especially in the second part of the season.

"He is one of the major reasons why we have been winning so many games.

"But after sharing the same dressing room, it would be fun to play against Wayne.

"One of us would have to lose and he is a great player, who would be hard to keep quiet.

"But that is the challenge. You want it. That is why you play football."

Vidic is enough of a patriot to bring up the topic of a World Cup meeting inside the United dressing room.

Rooney's jocular response did not come as a surprise.

"We have a hard group. We play against Germany, Ghana and Australia. That is tough," said Vidic.

"But I just mentioned to him if we got through we have a chance to meet England.

"I said it would be an interesting game. He said "Serbia? Who plays for them?".

"He was joking. He knows we are doing well and he knows we are not an easy team, even though England are a big one.

"We have a lot of good players right across Europe."

Although Cristiano Ronaldo's meeting with Rooney at the last World Cup earned the Portugal superstar all kinds of negative publicity for his part in the striker's dismissal in the quarter-final, few would be surprised if Vidic engaged in a muscular duel with Rooney, nor question the Serbian's loyalty to his country.

Not that he would set out to injure his friend. That is far more likely to happen in training.

"I don't kick so many players," he laughed. "I would kick him more in training."

But Vidic's defensive brilliance makes him the ideal man to assess Rooney's striking abilities.

Varied and plentiful appears to be the general view.

"He is strong and he has pace. For a defender, players like that are always difficult.

"He is playing with confidence, which is important and now he is scoring a lot of goals with his head. In fact, I need to speak with him about that because I have not scored many myself this season."

Vidic will be hoping Rooney is on top form against Fulham on Sunday as United attempt to secure the Premier League's top spot ahead of next weekend's tussle with Liverpool, against whom the defender has been dismissed on the past three meetings.

Michael Carrick is set to return from suspension for Ferguson's men, probably at the expense of Paul Scholes, who has unusually started two games in five days.

Gary Neville might also be replaced by Rafael Da Silva, whilst United are expected to find a place for record signing Dimitar Berbatov, who was unfortunate to be dropped for Wednesday's win over AC Milan but may benefit from a switch to two orthodox strikers against a Fulham side drained themselves by their Europa League exploits against Juventus on Thursday.