The form of Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney could mean more bench time for Dimitar Berbatov – Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson

EPL – Blackpool vs Manchester United, Dimitar Berbatov(Getty Images)

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Manchester United’s Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov may have to get used to spending time on the bench as the Javier Hernandez–Wayne Rooney partnership continues to impress.

The young Mexican striker’s brace against Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday took Hernandez to 16 goals for the season, with seven of them coming in his last nine matches.

Rooney has also hit form recently, scoring five goals in February, and Ferguson believes that the two could continue to lead the line for United, despite Berbatov leading the Premier League goal-scoring charts with 19 goals.

Speaking to reporters, Ferguson said: “It’s difficult to tell Dimitar he’s not playing.

“Players will never understand when they’re left out. It doesn’t matter what you say to them. They all want to play. I was the same myself. I always wanted to play and every footballer’s the same.

“The important thing is that he is recognised by us. And he will get games. He might even play against Bolton, depending on how I go.

“I played Rooney in a deeper role and Hernandez up front in the FA Cup tie against Arsenal last Saturday because the injury situation forced us to reorganise the team. And that worked well for us.

“We did exactly the same against Marseille because their strength was their three central midfield players. But Bolton are a completely different team and I might change things once again.”

 The Scot is by no means underestimating Saturday’s opponents Bolton and knows United have a game on the hands, particularly with the defensive injury crisis the Premier League leaders are going through at the moment.

 He added: “Bolton always give you a hard game.

“They are challenging for a place in Europe and are in the FA Cup semi-finals, so they will come to us with a great degree of confidence.”