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Wayne Rooney's brace against Aston Villa has put him on track to reach ten goals for the season - the tally Sir Alex Ferguson envisages for him.

In his column for last night's match programme, the United boss insisted he wasn't concerned by the forward's goal return which, at the time of writing, was three from 18 appearances. Now Rooney has five strikes to his name and, fitness permitting, nearly four full months to double that number.

"Some of our critics are making a meal out of the fact that Wayne is lagging behind in the goal stakes," said Sir Alex in United Review.

"He is (behind), compared with the bucketload he scored last year, but I am not worried.

"It's the scoring partnership that matters and the combination between our two front men has improved beyond all recognition. Last season Wayne benefited from Dimitar's work but this year it is Berbatov who is enjoying the last touch."

Sir Alex believes the better synchronised Berbatov-Rooney axis is now similar to a celebrated pairing from the club's Treble-winning season.

"If we finish the season with Berbatov scoring 30 and Wayne on 10 - and those are the targets I have in mind - I will be more than happy. That's what I call a successful strike partnership, reminiscent of Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke, and you know what we won when they were hot!"

More: Papers - Rooney's awesome | Rooney eyes goal rush

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