London, Jan 16 : Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that striker Michael Owen will get more first-team opportunities in the coming weeks.

Owen has started just one game for United since scoring a Champions League hat-trick against Wolfsburg on December 8, and has not been called from the bench in any of the club’s last three Premier League games.

“I haven’t used Michael for the last two or three games, but he needs the games and we are going to try and solve that problem because his training performances are still very good. I have no problems with him — it is just the blend of your strikers. Sometimes playing with one striker, like against Birmingham last Saturday, suits us with the strength we have in midfield,’ The Telegraph quoted Ferguson, as saying.

“So, it’s a matter of choice at the moment, but Michael is not out of the equation at all. He will come into it. We like to see Rooney through the middle, though, and I think his goalscoring form has been excellent this season,” he added.

Ferguson further said that Owen is one of the best forwards available in the country.

“Michael is a last defender player. There is no one better at that, his movement and positional sense is excellent, so it is a difficult choice to play two through the middle in the modern-day game,” Ferguson said.

“I think there will be times when we change the pattern of the team, though. Wayne can’t play every game anyway and, if you want to retain his freshness for the important games ahead, then you sometimes need to make changes,” he added. (ANI)