London, Sept.27 : Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson has told Wayne Rooney he will have to accept being on the bench at times this season.

Since signing for Manchester United four years ago, Rooney has been a certain starter for all their major games. The 22-year-old has averaged 43 games a season since joining the Red Devils.

But following the signing of Dimitar Berbatov, boss Fergie has four fit main attackers to call upon for the first time this decade. And he will be rotating them for the big clashes to ensure they stay fresh for the full season.

Which means that Rooney will sometimes find himself where he likes it least - on the bench.

Ferguson said: "They all know it has to happen. I understand that some players want to play every week - Eric Cantona was like that - but it cannot happen."

"To achieve what we want to achieve we need four strikers of the quality we had in 1999 with Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Solskjaer. Whoever plays will not be down to performance. It will just be about keeping them fresh," The Sun quoted him as saying further.

Fergie said: "Maybe Wayne has not been getting a lot of chances at the moment."

Ferguson reckons Berbatov's arrival from Tottenham will assist Rooney in that.

ANI