Manchester United's Wayne Rooney has lavished praise on his in-form strike partner Dimitar Berbatov (pictured; 176.19 points FTBL rating).

The Bulgarian is enjoying his most fruitful season at Old Trafford since arriving from Tottenham two-and-a-half years ago.

He currently has 14 goals this term and has managed to find the form and consistency that previously eluded him.

This is in marked contrast to Rooney, who topped the scoring charts last year but has so far only managed three goals this term - two of which came from the spot.

Rooney, though, demonstrates no signs of jealousy and is as pleased as anyone for his strike partner.

"I enjoy playing with Dimitar," Rooney told the official Champions League magazine.

Together

"If we are playing well together it is the product of us playing and training together for years.

"You start to learn which movements he will make, when he will pass the ball and when he will shoot.

"He is fantastic to play with. He can do things that are really special."

United now enter a crucial period of four games which could have a real impact on their season.

They face Birmingham on Saturday, before meeting Blackpool, Aston Villa and Wolves.

Should they manage to win them all, it would put them in a very strong position when they meet City for the Manchester derby on February.


Stretched

The resumption of the Champions League and an FA Cup tie during that period means that United's squad will be stretched.

This means striker Javier Hernandez should feature more prominently - a player who has impressed Rooney greatly.

He added: "He is a great finisher and a really nice lad.

"He is always on the training pitch, trying to improve, which is nice to see and shows his dedication.

"He always has a smile on his face and enjoys his football. He has done really well in his first season and won us a few games.

"He has scored some important goals already. Hopefully he will continue to do that for years to come."