Berba backed to shine

Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed criticism of Dimitar Berbatov and is confident United fans will soon see the best of their new striker.

The Bulgarian has yet to score for the Reds since his deadline-day move from Tottenham but has been increasingly influential, most recently on his home debut against Bolton on Saturday.

Ferguson said: "Dimitar only played one pre-season game for Tottenham, followed by two tremendously difficult away games for us, and in those sorts of matches you are asking a lot for someone who’s just arrived at the club to perform.

"When we understand how good he is in terms of his movement and ability to lead the line, then we’ll get the best use out of him.

"You saw that in the second half against Bolton, when we used him more and some of his passes, control and balance were absolutely fantastic."

Berbatov is set to take his place in the starting line-up for tonight's Champions League game in Aalborg, although which forward line Ferguson will select is anyone's guess.

The Reds boss insists his side are under no pressure to play with style because United are the reigning European champions.

"We’ll play how we normally play, which is hopefully in an entertaining and exciting way," he said. "We can’t play like that every game but we try to, and that’s the most important thing.

"We expect a hard game against Aalborg because, irrespective of their league form, playing United is a great motivation for them. But I hope we don’t have any hiccups."