Wayne Rooney's presence is enough to give Manchester United a lift according to Wes Brown.

Rooney took his goal tally for the season to 23 against Portsmouth, equalling his personal best.

Now, he aims to break new ground at Aston Villa tonight, and exert more pressure on Barclays Premier League title rivals Chelsea.

Former England skipper Alan Shearer is not on his own in believing Rooney has carried United for much of the current campaign.

Wes Brown does not agree with that statement. But he does acknowledge having Rooney alongside him brings an extra air of confidence.

"It gives you so much of a boost knowing he can always make something happen," said Brown.

"It definitely helps when you are playing in a game.

"Wayne is playing fantastically well at the moment. He is a pleasure to watch, not just for the fans but for the other players around him.

"We don't rely on him but he is a big influence for us. He is expected to do a lot and what he does has been magnificent."

A run of nine successive United away wins over Villa only ended with a goalless draw last season.

It was 1995 - when Alan Hansen famously delivered his "You'll never win anything with kids" judgement - that Sir Alex Ferguson's team last tasted a league defeat on one of their favourite grounds.

Rarely since then have Villa been quite so competitive as they are now though.

In fact, even Ferguson admitted Villa were the better side when they claimed maximum points at Old Trafford in December, the first time the midlands outfit had won that particular fixture in over 38 years.

But Brown feels United have gained momentum since then.

Even though Rio Ferdinand still has two matches of a four-game ban to serve now he has opted not to appeal against the additional match, Ferguson does have options.

Veterans Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are both tipped to be involved, while Nemanja Vidic has an outside chance of returning after a nerve problem ruled him out since the turn of the year.

"It is going to be a different Manchester United from now on," said Brown.

"For us now it is a question of being focussed all the way.

"We have been down this path so many times before. If we keep our focus and our form remains good, we have a decent chance."