Sir Alex Ferguson believes England are more dependent on striker Wayne Rooney than Manchester United.

"I think there's a bigger expectation on Wayne with England than there is with us," Ferguson told the Sunday Mirror.

"England look upon him as the No.1 striker and it seems they don't have an absolutely certain partner for him.

"They talk about Emile Heskey, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe. Whereas here he has Dimitar Berbatov."

He reiterated: "There's not the same expectation on Rooney from us as there is with England."

Berbatov has established himself as first-choice striker, alongside Rooney, at Old Trafford after the summer departures of Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Bulgarian has revelled in his new-found key role, putting in some fine performances while finally finding himself among the goals in a United shirt, much to Ferguson's delight.

"He's responded to playing all the time," said the Scotsman of Berbatov.

"He's got touch, vision and composure. He'll take his time in the last third of the pitch, where others may hurry. He's a terrific player."