Wayne Rooney insists helping Manchester United enjoy a successful end to the campaign is more important than emulating Cristiano Ronaldo's tally of 42 goals in a season.

Rooney was asked to fill the void left by the Portuguese forward when Ronaldo made an 80 million pounds move to Real Madrid last year.

And the England striker has done just that, with an incredible burst of goals that have kept United in contention in the Premier League and the Champions League.

The former Everton striker has scored 24 goals in his past 22 matches and his two goals in Sunday's 3-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford took his tally to 32 for the season.

Yet Rooney is adamant he is not worried about beating Ronaldo's total of 42 goals two seasons ago as he concentrates on keeping United top of the Premier League.

He said: "Being honest it wouldn't mean a lot to me and it's not something I've looked at.

"It's nice to score goals and I want to score goals in every game but what Cristiano achieved is unbelievable.

"But I'm a different person and a different player so I'm not comparing myself to him."

United moved two points clear at the top of the table with the victory over Fulham and, with Chelsea and Arsenal both winning on Saturday, Rooney felt it was a crucial three points.

He said: "We knew it was a big game for us and we had to win. We're confident and playing well, we have had a job to do and we've done that."

Ferguson feels Rooney has a genuine chance of reaching the 42-goal mark but he thinks keeping his defensive unit together is key to his hopes of a record fourth straight title.

Rio Ferdinand's return from a back problem alongside Nemanja Vidic has coincided with United picking up three straight wins and three consecutive clean sheets.

Ferguson said: "I keep praying I can keep that back four together, with the experience they've got and Edwin van der Sar's experience will give us a massive chance.

"The key for us will be keeping the back four together."

On Rooney, Ferguson said: "I said a while ago it's impossible for a player to get 42 in the present day but he's on 32, what can I say?

"It's a challenge for him, he is capable of scoring in the next eight league games and possibly five European games so he's got 13 games possibly and you never know.

"I won't put it beyond him but I'm just happy he got over the 30 mark and we're enjoying his form at the moment."