WITH Paul Ince and his grizzled former compadre, Archie Knox, in the home dugout, old faces welcomed Sir Alex Ferguson to Ewood Park. Familiarity can breed content. Ferguson could go into the managers’ room for wine with his one-time muckers to enjoy having survived at one of those venues and in one of those weathers, in which a title campaign can suffer. It wasn’t easy, and Blackburn were aggrieved by their opponents’ all-important opening goal, but Manchester United deserved victory and the be-gloved guile of Dimitar Berbatov was sublime.

The memory of slow starts are fast-fading. Berbatov began quietly for United but now looks a fully functioning part of the shredding machine which, on good days like these, is their attack. United themselves are looking healthier-positioned after their slow emergence from the blocks in the title race.

If Berbatov’s stroked passes framed his team’s performance, it was Wayne Rooney who ended up in the middle of the picture. In front of Fabio Capello, the striker struck his third goal in as many games and one of his best. It came at the end of a classic United counter-attack and settled the score at 2-0. Wes Brown fed a pass up the flank for Cristiano Ronaldo, who drew in Martin Olsson and sprang past him with a sure first touch and electric burst. He drove towards the byline and Rooney delayed a run so as to make himself available for a cut-back. When he was duly delivered, Rooney whipped a first time shot across Jason Brown into the far corner of the net. United should have followed up with further goals but Ronaldo, Tevez and Berbatov missed.

Ferguson did the unexpected against Bolton last week by dropping Wayne Rooney. The surprise here was that Rooney was playing. He began on the right, with Ryan Giggs in the middle and Ronaldo on the left of a three-man support corps for Dimitar Berbatov. Wes Brown returned at right-back in place of Rafael Da Silva. It was not a game for foreign greenhorns. Grey skies, a low temperature and remorseless rain made this a classic English football test.

For everyone bar the opposing fans, seeing Rooney play wide always feels like getting socks for Christmas: better than nothing, but not what you’d hoped for. There was no chance for Rooney and Berbatov to work on the split strikers tandem we presumed Ferguson wanted when he signed the Bulgarian but perhaps he is right not to relinquish the flexibility in attack that brought United a surfeit of glories last season.

Blackburn certainly struggled to cope with the varied ways and angles with which Ferguson’s forwards came at them and Berbatov was uncontainable. United’s manager has been instructing his players to play to Berbatov’s feet, even when he is tightly marked, and for all the close attentions of Chris Samba and Ryan Nelsen he proved a Houdini. Darren Fletcher benefited when the Bulgarian, amid a cluster of opponents, stabbed a pass into the area to set him free. Fletcher had only Jason Brown to beat but the Scot scotched the opportunity.

Another gorgeous through-pass from Berbatov, laconically struck, gave Rooney a one-on-one with Brown yet he took the ball too close to the goalkeeper who claimed it at his feet. By that time United were ahead — with Berbatov and, equally inevitably, given the way officing has gone this season, Steve Bennett, the referee, influential. Berbatov had peeled to the right to accept possession on the counter-attack and flash a pass into the box that ran all the way to Giggs on the far side. Giggs, hitting a sweet first-time shot, brought an impressive save from Brown and from the corner, taken short, Rooney sent in a deep cross. Blackburn’s goalkeeper tried to claim it but Nemanja Vidic, turning his back in attempting a header, caught the goalkeeper on the jaw with his arm. The foul seemed unintentional but a foul just the same but there was no whistle from Bennett and Wes Brown nodded home from two yards.

Blackburn were still protesting when the teams went in for half-time but in Bennett’s defence, the game benefited generally from his preference for letting play flow.

One reason why Paul Ince has been able to make the leap from the lower leagues to the top flight is his footballing principles. Blackburn had no Berbatov but found some nice passing angles of their own. Vidic and Rio Ferdinand were troubled by the strength and guile of Roque Santa Cruz and the flank play Ince likes was evident when Brett Emerton sliced through the United back four with a low and early-struck centre from the right. From eight yards out Matt Derbyshire could not get his shot past Edwin Van Der Sar, however, and Vidic dived in courageously to clear.

Blackburn threatened again, seconds after after the restart, when Santa Cruz broked behind Vidic & co and Van Der Sar had to save a fierce shot. Within minutes, though, Santa Cruz departed with an injury and any danger to United began receding.

Ronaldo, having miscontrolled a through ball from Ferdinand and miscued when teed up by Berbatov, did not look like affecting the game but then he came up with his brilliant assist for Rooney and United could coast.

BLACKBURN: Brown, Ooijer, Samba, Nelsen, Olsson, Emerton, Tugay (sub: Andrews 68min), Warnock, Pedersen (sub:Treacy 58min), Derbyshire, Santa Cruz (sub: Roberts 50min)

MANCHESTER UNITED: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra (sub: O’Shea 71min), Ronaldo, Fletcher, Anderson, Giggs (sub:Tevez 66min), Rooney (sub: Park 77min), Berbatov