Sir Alex Ferguson is refusing to put pressure on Wayne Rooney to equal Cristiano Ronaldo's amazing 42-goal haul from two seasons ago. The England forward took this year's tally to 27 on Tuesday, and although his manager has claimed he is toying with the idea of leaving his star man out, the 24-year-old will almost certainly get the opportunity to wreak more havoc in tomorrow's League Cup final against Aston Villa.

With a maximum of 17 games remaining, Rooney is only 15 short of Ronaldo's phenomenal contribution to United's 2007/08 campaign, which ended in Premier League and UEFA Champions League glory. But in the knowledge the former Everton forward is already shouldering much of his team's hopes, Ferguson does not want the burden to be any greater.

"We have ten league games after tomorrow and hopefully six European ties. That is 17 games in total," said Ferguson. "A goal a game would bring him to 44. There's pressure for you.

A goal a game would bring him to 44. It is a target and who wouldn't love to get that kind of goal tally. But I have said all along if he gets over 30 I will be delighted, so let's not be greedy.
Manchester United manager on Wayne Rooney

"It is a target and who wouldn't love to get that kind of goal tally. It is hard to think he could reach it though. I don't think he has got that kind of target and I certainly haven't.

"He is in a great scoring burst right now. He is popping up in the right places at the right time and his judgment in the penalty box is improving. That is a nice sign. But I have said all along if he gets over 30 I will be delighted, so let's not be greedy."

Should Ferguson opt to leave Rooney out, it would at least offer Dimitar Berbatov a chance to play. The Bulgarian could hardly have imagined that, after spending a club record £30.75m on him at the start of last season, he would be left out of so many key games this term.

Van der Sar, Berbatov earn praise
Benched for last season's Champions League final, Berbatov was also among the substitutes for the recent 3-2 win over AC Milan in the San Siro. His response has been admirable, though, scoring at Everton last weekend before producing an outstanding performance, in a creative capacity, against West Ham United in midweek.

"Dimitar is consistent," said Ferguson. "On Saturday he looked like the only one who could score and he has performed well in recent games. We do have a preference to play one striker sometimes. But that does not reflect on him in any way, or Michael Owen for that matter. It is just the choice we make."

Ferguson has a dilemma over the goalkeeping position tomorrow, with Tomasz Kuszczak, Ben Foster and Edwin van der Sar all having plausible claims on the shirt.

For the Dutch veteran, it would represent another notable milestone at the latter end of a career he has agreed to extend beyond his 40th birthday by remaining at Old Trafford for another year. "Edwin's professionalism and dedication to his job, and the way he looks after himself, have given him longevity in the game," said Ferguson.

"That longevity includes such great experience, not just at United but at Juventus, Ajax and on an international level. We are absolutely delighted he is continuing for another year."