Fergie hails ‘startling’ Hernandez

MANCHESTER UNITED manager Alex Ferguson has claimed Javier Hernandez’s “startling” introduction to English football has condemned Dimitar Berbatov to life on the substitutes’ bench.

Wayne Rooney’s suspension means Berbatov is likely to be recalled today. Yet it seems like a temporary reprieve for the Bulgarian, which is a bizarre situation for the man destined to end up as this season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner to find himself in. The reason, according to Ferguson, is Hernandez.

“I really didn’t expect Hernandez to have this impact,” said Ferguson.

“As we said to Solskjaer, we thought his first season would be about integration.

“The only advantage for Hernandez was that he’d played in the World Cup so there was a profile attached to him and he had also come from a much tougher domestic competition.”

“Hernandez is fantastic at taking up positions inside the penalty box,” said Ferguson.

“It is natural. He has the instinct to move around and his timing is terrific. There have only been a few top strikers who have had that quality.

“Ole was one and Gary Lineker probably never scored a good goal in his life, but he was always in space. He’d get rebounds off goalkeepers and was always in really good areas.”

All this has rather left Berbatov in the cold.

“It is unfortunate for Dimitar because he is a fantastic player,” said Ferguson of Berbatov’s present plight. “But the reasons are obvious.

“The emergence of Hernandez in the last couple of months has been startling. He is improving all the time and is getting stronger.

“It is very difficult to leave a player out when he hits that kind of form.”

Meanwhile City manager Roberto Mancini wants to build a dynasty to match the trophy-gathering machine Ferguson has created.

“I have respect for United because they have won everything for many years,” said Mancini.

“To begin with, they won a single trophy after a long time with nothing. Now we are in the same position. We can go on to do what United done.”

City skipper and talisman Carlos Tevez is out with a hamstring injury but Micah Richards returns. For City so much depends on the performances of key men David Silva and Yaya Toure, plus the impact made by what combination of Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko Mancini uses.

Ferguson is still without virus-stricken Darren Fletcher, while Owen Hargreaves, appears to have played his final game for United as he suffered yet another injury setback this week.