Boss Sir Alex Ferguson saw Manchester United beat Blackburn 2-0 to head the Premier League and claimed the squad is his strongest in 21 years at the club.

United may have looked different to the side who turned out in midweek but the result was the same as Sir Alex's men comfortably swept aside Blackburn Rovers on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's double.

Prior to Saturday Blackburn had recorded seven wins in eight games and initially Rovers more than matched United, with strikers Roque Santa Cruz and Benni McCarthy looking lively.

Sir Alex Ferguson feels Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo have the potential to emulate another Manchester United trio.

United legends Sir Bobby Charlton, Denis Law and George Best all won the European Footballer of the Year award in the 1960s and Ferguson admits it would be 'fantastic' if his current attacking jewels could repeat the feat.

Sir Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney's freak injury could be the final nail in the coffin of England's Euro 2008 hopes.

The in-form Manchester United striker is facing four weeks on the sidelines after damaging his ankle during a game of head tennis in training.

"I think Rooney was the man who could take England to the European championships," Ferguson told Manchester United Radio.

Sir Alex Ferguson has declared Paul Scholes' recent knee operation a "100 per cent success".

Scholes underwent knee surgery at the back end of last month after picking up the problem in training.

"The operation Paul has had on his knee has been 100 per cent successful," Ferguson said.

"The surgeon has reported that the condition generally of his knee was excellent with no concerns.

Patrice Evra insists that the Premier League title remains the priority despite progress in Europe.

"It will be a very hard game at the weekend," Evra said.

"I think maybe more hard than Arsenal. Blackburn are a strong team, physically you have to be ready for this game.

Ryan Giggs, Owen Hargreaves, Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown are all in contention for Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash with Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford after being rested for the midweek win over Dynamo Kyiv.

The quartet watched from the stands as the Reds thrashed the Ukrainians 4-0, booking their place in the Champions League knockout stages.

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney is out for up to four weeks after sustaining an ankle injury in training.

The problem also means he misses England's potentially decisive Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia at Wembley on 21 November.

In-form Rooney, 22, has just been named Premier League player of the month for October after scoring eight goals in his last seven games.

UNITED midfielder Michael Carrick believes competition for places is so great at Old Trafford that manager Sir Alex Ferguson may have a problem picking his first-choice line-up.