Berbatov, on the brink of recapturing his top
form.
Berba, the Red Devils’ £30million summer signing, has
had a low-key start to his Old Trafford career, with just four
league goals so far.
The champions have struggled to find the net in the
Premier League — scoring eight times in their last eight games —
and the loss of Rooney with a hamstring injury will not
help.
But Fergie insists he has been delighted with Berba
since his arrival and predicts the Bulgarian could be about to come
to the fore. He expected the former Tottenham man would need time
to find his feet after his deadline-day move but feels he has
fitted in perfectly.
The United boss said: “I am delighted with the way
things are going and I am especially pleased by Dimitar’s progress
in settling into the team. When you pay a lot of money for a
player, he inevitably comes under close scrutiny.
“It happened to Juan Veron and Rio Ferdinand — and
Dimitar has also suffered from the impatience of people when a new
guy makes a big move. “At Tottenham, he orchestrated most of their
play. If at times he has looked a bit isolated, it was because our
players needed to adjust to him as much as he has needed to learn
our ways. “But he has settled in very well and I have the feeling
that we are about to see the best of Berbatov.”
While the onus will be on Berba at one end when United
face Bolton tomorrow, Fergie has not much to worry about at the
back. United secured a club record with their 1-0 shut-out against
Wigan on Wednesday.
That was their NINTH clean sheet in a row in the
league, beating a previous-best run from 1997. Now they could equal
the 10 Chelsea put together back in 2004-05 by thwarting the
Trotters at the Reebok.
Defender John O’Shea reckons the defence has been the
cornerstone for success this term. He said: “It was a battling
performance against Wigan and a clean sheet at the end of it is a
positive. “We’re proud of the record but that’s the basis for every
successful season we’ve had. Keeping clean sheets is
important.”
SunSport revealed on Wednesday that United are ready to
join Spurs in the chase to sign Wigan ace Wilson Palacios. And
O’Shea admitted there were a few players in Steve Bruce’s line-up
who caught his eye on Wednesday.
O’Shea said: “Some of their attacking players are
excellent. I had a tough night against Valencia. He’s quite quick!
“You can understand why there has been interest from other clubs in
some of their players. “They have good attacking talent and it
might prove difficult for Wigan to keep hold of them.”