Sir Alex Ferguson has set Wayne Rooney a 40-goal target to fire Manchester United to Premier League glory.
He may still be 14 short of his manager's request, but his brace yesterday could well prove pivotal in clinching United's 20th league title.
With Manchester City losing at Swansea, United hit top spot for the first time since the middle of October thanks to Rooney's second double in as many games.
"If Wayne gets to 40 goals I will be absolutely delighted because we will be in business then," said Ferguson. "The City defeat was a bonus I didn't expect but I am happy to be top because only a few weeks ago we were seven points behind them.
"That is credit to the players and the resilience of the squad because as everyone knows, we have had a lot of injuries."
So many injuries indeed that Rooney does not feel United have been given the credit their recent run of form deserves.
"Fair enough, Europe has been disappointing, but we have had really tough games in the Premier League," said Rooney. "We have played a lot of the top teams. Sometimes we have not been at our best but we have still got the wins."
Rooney requires another eight goals to equal his best ever haul of 34, scored in his injury-blighted 2009-2010 campaign.
That will be a target too, although the 26-year-old is not letting personal aims get in the way of collective achievements.
"I know how many goals I need to achieve it but I am not really focused on that at the minute," he said. "We have 10 games left and I just want to help us get those points we need to be successful. The most important thing is to win trophies."
Roy Hodgson, the West Bromwich Albion manager, has no doubt Rooney can do that, hailing the forward as "world-class". Indeed, as an outsider to replace Fabio Capello as England manager, Hodgson could yet be the unfortunate recipient of Rooney's absence from the first two Euro 2012 games through suspension.
"Rooney is a world-class player and will be a major loss for England in the first two matches of Euro 2012," he said. "I think you will find that at the end of those two matches a lot of people are going to be talking about the fact Wayne Rooney was suspended and had he been able to play it would have helped England's chances."
Rooney's first came before the break, when he toed home what he is convinced was a shot from an acute angle by Javier Hernandez.
United had already survived a couple of scares, then escaped what appeared to be a foul in the penalty box by Patrice Evra on Peter Odemwingie before Jonas Olsson was sent off.
Hodgson felt that was the pivotal moment in the game because not long afterwards, Keith Andrews fouled Ashley Young, allowing Rooney to convert the penalty.
"Wayne is on a hot streak," said Ferguson. "I thought his first goal might have been offside because he was so clear but when you see his timing of the run it was fantastic."
Ferguson confirmed Nani had missed out after suffering "a bruise" in training, although the Scot avoided a question about Brazilian midfielder Anderson, who was also absent.
And the United manager insisted the future of Paul Pogba remained unclear after introducing the teenager as a second-half replacement for Paul Scholes despite reports last week that he had agreed to join Juventus.
"The boy is still trying to make his mind up but he knows where he should be and he has shown today the potential he has got," said Ferguson.
"He is a first-team player, there is no question about that."
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