Diary helped Solskjaer through dark days

Manchester United's supporters will once again be itching to raise the roof for an overdue goal by Wayne Rooney tonight, but even the end of the England striker's eight-match scoring drought might struggle to match the response from Old Trafford in the event of a 33-year-old fringe player adding to his haul against Copenhagen.

Rooney, who last struck in the Champions' League with a hat-trick on his United debut two years ago, has yet to play his way into the hearts of the fans the way that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did even before an instinctive thrust in a packed Bayern Munich penalty area clinched the European Cup in 1999. With five goals already this season, the hit man with the paper-boy looks is making up for the time lost in a three-year absence and daring to dream he could reach another final with United.

"This is as good as the side I was in before I was injured," said the Norwegian, who has fought back after a series of knee problems. " It's a bit different because we have lots of pace, we're good at counter-attacking and obviously, with players like Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, we have people who can beat men and do things on their own. But we are a team that works together. There are no personal agendas or individual targets. It is all about winning something as a team."

In fact, Solskjaer had an agenda and a target, namely to refuse to accept his career was over and to return to active service with United, although the story of his recovery contained some dark chapters. "There were a few moments when I looked in the mirror and thought, 'Are you fooling yourself?'" he admitted. "Yet later, when I started to write my thoughts in my diary, I'd tell myself it wasn't right to be so negative. I never went to bed thinking I wasn't going to make it."

Solskjaer hit the winner against Celtic and was on the mark again at Wigan on Saturday, where Rooney again failed to find the net. Sir Alex Ferguson professes confidence in the 20-year-old, while acknowledging that it would be better for all concerned if he came good against the Danish champions. "We hope that Wayne scores," he said. "Strikers like to get goals. They want to be scoring all the time, and when they aren't, they have their little concerns. Wayne is no different.

"When he hit the bar against Wigan, it was typical of the kind of luck he has been having. But the way he went on to perform in the second half showed it didn't faze him. His ability and work-rate are the two key elements that show why we shouldn't concern ourselves. I'm very confident about the boy."

United will be striving to maintain their 100 per cent start in Group F, knowing that a third victory would all but ensure their place in the knock-out phase. Ronaldo and Gary Neville, who missed the win at Wigan through injury, are fit to resume but Mikaël Silvestre, Park Ji-Sung and Gabriel Heinze are out.

Copenhagen, coached by Solskjaer's compatriot Sale Solbakken, come into the back-to-back encounters with United with one point and no goals from two fixtures. Tobias Linderoth, the former Everton midfielder, has stayed at home with his wife as she prepares to give birth but could fly out if the baby arrives in time. Jesper Gronkjaer, formerly of Chelsea and Birmingham, is absent injured, but the former Aston Villa striker Marcus Allback will start.

Manchester United (4-4-2, probable): Van der Sar; Neville, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra; Solskjaer, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs; Rooney, Saha.

Copenhagen (4-4-2, probable): Christiansen; Jacobsen, Hangeland, Gravgaard, Wendt; Silberbauer, Thomassen, Norregaard, Hutchinson; Berglund, Allback.

Referee: J Wegereef (Netherlands).