The Manchester United striker has still not scored for his club in open play since March and the barren run continued in today's 2-0 win over Sunderland at Old Trafford. Instead it is forward partner Dimitar Berbatov grabbing the headlines and another double for the Bulgarian took his tally to 13, as well as extending United's unbeaten record to 17 games and consolidating their position on top of the table. However, Ferguson is delighted with Rooney's overall contribution and has no fears for the England hit-man. "Wayne had a couple of tries today," reflected the United boss. "He was very unlucky with the chip and there were a couple of shots saved by the goalkeeper. "He is getting there. The important thing is he is playing well. That is refreshing." Rooney is making a positive contribution. It was his excellent chip that set Berbatov up for his fourth-minute opener, although, after blowing a succession of first-half chances, United's record signing required the assistance of a massive deflection off Anton Ferdinand to seal the points after the break. "Dimitar could have scored four or five today," said Ferguson. "He had some terrific opportunities. "I was disappointed with the score at half-time. "We hit the bar and the post. Their keeper has made a couple of good saves and we played some really good football. "It was exciting stuff but then we just seemed to go into third gear." Part of the reason for that was the knowledge United's opponents on Tuesday, Birmingham, had their feet up following the postponement of their game at Everton. Blues boss Alex McLeish took the opportunity to watch Ferguson's side in action, although he is set to be greeted with the presence of Nani at St Andrew's, the Portugal winger set to recover from the hip injury that kept him out of today's encounter. Darren Fletcher was also sidelined with a heavy cold. He too could come into contention though as Ferguson intends to make a couple of changes to his starting line-up. "We have come into good form," he said. "In the last few weeks we have played some very good stuff. We are getting that consistency, particularly in our defending. "We are looking solid at the back. These are good signs for us. It is an important time to get that. "Birmingham will be fresh. Going down there is always a difficult place to go to. They have always had a strong home record and are difficult to beat on their own ground. "We are aware of that. I will make a couple of changes to freshen that part up. Hopefully we will get the result we want." As someone who was part of the first United side that won the Premier League 18 years ago, Sunderland manager Steve Bruce can tell a decent team when he sees one. And he doesn't buy into the argument that this Red Devils group are an inferior outfit. "I have heard it said that United are not playing that well," he said. "Well, they are unbeaten for six months, so that is not a bad statistic is it? "They are top of the league, with games in hand, and history suggests they always get better in the second half of the season. "Maybe we were a bit naive today. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say you were well beaten. "But I wouldn't bet against them, that's for sure."
