BARRING a collapse of Devon Loch proportions by Chelsea in the Barclays Premiership title race, it was nowhere near the most important of the 149 goals that Ruud van Nistelrooy has now scored for Manchester United, but it might just have felt that way for him last night.

Bemused at his exclusion by Sir Alex Ferguson over the past five weeks, the forward returned with a point to prove and prove it he did, scoring the goal that maintained the winning habit his team-mates have built up without him.

For the record, the deficit to Chelsea has been reduced to an almost respectable nine points, but only if the leaders run into serious and unexpected trouble before United’s visit to Stamford Bridge on April 29 is that likely to be of much consequence. Far more important for Ferguson is restoring the confidence and swagger that his team have lost over the past couple of seasons.

Even if there was an end-of-season feel about this match, a seventh consecutive Premiership victory, with Van Nistelrooy’s goal enough to beat an increasingly admirable West Ham United side, is not to be sniffed at. Van Nistelrooy did not do too much else to demand his inclusion away to Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, but goals are not a bad indicator of a striker’s worth. As a former centre forward, Ferguson, remarkably unsympathetic to the Holland striker of late, appeared to recognise that.

“He’s the best in Europe at that,” the United manager said. “And what that does is give us that great confidence of knowing we’ve got three great strikers and also the potential of Giuseppe Rossi. When we won the treble in 1999, having four strikers working hard for each other was a key factor. We can do that again if we get four strikers competing for the positions and rotate them.”

Leaving aside the questionable assertion that United can win the treble again during Ferguson’s tenure, the most significant comment was the one implying that Van Nistelrooy must accept the realities of squad rotation. “I’ve got a job picking my team for Saturday now, but that’s what I’m paid to do,” Ferguson said. “For Ruud, this was his first game in quite a few weeks. That’s the kind of response we wanted to see.”

Van Nistelrooy’s moment arrived in first-half stoppage time and he had Graham Poll to thank, the added time stemming from an interruption caused by a hamstring injury that forced the referee’s replacement by the fourth official, Martin Atkinson. Given the proximity of the World Cup finals, England’s most experienced, if least self-effacing, referee may not have shared the delight of a Premiership record crowd of 69,522, but the way he joked with Ferguson on the touchline suggested it was not a cause for concern.

West Ham had the better of the early exchanges, with Matthew Etherington eager to see how Gerard Piqué would deputise for Gary Neville at right back. They forced four corners in the first eight minutes and, from the last, Dean Ashton should have scored, but his attempt to redirect Lionel Scaloni’s cross-shot failed.

That was as good as it got for West Ham, with United beginning to find their rhythm after a nervous start. Darren Fletcher, another with a point to prove, went close after a clever turn in the penalty area; Piqué tested Shaka Hislop from 25 yards; Nemanja Vidic hit a post; and Patrice Evra also had a shot saved. With Van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney relatively subdued, it seemed that the chances were falling to the wrong people.

West Ham’s sense of security, though, was to prove false. With half-time looming, the hitherto impressive Danny Gabbidon was too casual and played Hislop into trouble. The goalkeeper’s hurried clearance was eventually seized upon by Piqué, who sent Park scampering around Paul Konchesky. The quality of his final ball has been the only disappointing aspect of the South Korean’s play in his first season, but this time he picked out Van Nistelrooy, who steered his shot into the far corner.

Alan Pardew, the West Ham manager, admitted that his team hardly threatened to make a game of it after that, their recent FA Cup endeavours seemingly catching up with some of his youngsters. The exhibition feel was heightened by the home crowd’s charitable reaction to the introduction of their former hero, Teddy Sheringham, four days shy of his 40th birthday, and Anton Ferdinand, younger brother of Rio, but ultimately it was all about one man. And on this occasion it was not Poll.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): E van der Sar — G Piqué, R Ferdinand, N Vidic, P Evra (sub: M Silvestre, 78min) — C Ronaldo (sub: L Saha, 87), D Fletcher (sub: R Giggs, 69), J O’Shea, Park Ji Sung — R van Nistelrooy, W Rooney. Substitutes not used: T Howard, G Rossi.

WEST HAM UNITED (4-4-2): S Hislop — L Scaloni (sub: A Ferdinand, 68), J Collins, D Gabbidon, P Konchesky — Y Benayoun, N Reo-Coker, H Mullins, M Etherington (sub: R Zamora, 81) — M Harewood, D Ashton (sub: E Sheringham, 81). Substitutes not used: J Walker, C Fletcher.

Referee: G Poll (rep: M Atkinson, 25).