Rooney has Ferguson smiling

While Wayne Rooney's debut hat-trick against Fenerbahce made all the headlines, it was not the only reason for Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to be cheerful.

The 18-year-old striker inspired a 6-2 Champions League rout of the Turkish side on Tuesday, lifting the gloom surrounding Old Trafford since United finished third in the English Premier League last season behind Arsenal and Chelsea.

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Keen to keep the pressure off Rooney, however, Ferguson preferred to concentrate on the performance of his team.

"Our attacking play was excellent," he said. "It was a great start for Rooney but I'd rather talk about the game in general."

United made a stumbling start to the new campaign but victories over Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur lifted them to fifth in the Premier League table before the demolition of Fenerbahce.

Without first-choice midfielders Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferguson paired Brazilian Kleberson and Cameroon's Eric Djemba-Djemba in the centre, with young Frenchman David Bellion on the right.

BEST PERFORMANCE

Kleberson enjoyed his best performance in a United shirt, showing glimpses of the neat passing and creative skills that made him a key member of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning squad.

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"He's got great talent and he showed that," Ferguson said. "He's a central midfield player and in fairness to him he has hardly played in that position since he joined us."

Ferguson also fielded his first-choice back line of Gary Neville, Gabriel Heinze, Rio Ferdinand and Mikael Silvestre for the first time, and although United conceded two goals from corners the manager refused to criticise his defence.

"Fenerbahce's set-piece play was very good," he said. "You have to credit the quality of the service."

It was his team's attacking potential, however, that would have pleased Ferguson most.

Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy appeared to thrive in tandem with Rooney, setting up the 27 million-pound ($48.57 million) forward's first goal with a deft through ball and scoring United's fifth with a trademark finish of his own.

With France's Louis Saha back to full fitness and England's Alan Smith making an excellent start to his Old Trafford career, Ferguson has four quality strikers for the first time since United won the Champions League in 1999.

He also has the evergreen Ryan Giggs, scorer of the first goal against Fenerbahce, and Portuguese winger Ronaldo, whose pace and trickery have lit up Old Trafford since his arrival from Sporting Lisbon last year.

"I think this is probably the strongest squad we've had," Ferguson said. "I have a squad of young players who are going to get better and I can develop them over the next few years."

The next test for United comes against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on Sunday, when Ferguson must decide which attacking combination to unleash on a team who pulled off a shock 3-2 victory in the corresponding fixture last season.