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Danny Welbeck is trailing well behind his fellow strikers in the Old Trafford scoring stakes.

Robin van Persie is streets ahead on 22 goals and is heading for a back-to-back Premier League Golden Boots.

Javier Hernandez enjoyed a purple patch in November and December that rocketed his figures to 12 goals. Wayne Rooney, despite his knee trouble over Christmas and New Year, has nine to his name.

Mancunian Welbeck, however, has scored only one goal all season and that was back in October against Stoke City at Old Trafford.

Welbeck, though, has made more appearances this term than either Rooney or Hernandez.

He’s started 15 games and come on as a substitute 10 times. Rooney has 21 appearances and Hernandez 23.

Welbeck has, however, largely been employed in a wider role and the 22-year-old England forward’s work-rate has been vital to the Reds.

But the Longsight-born Academy product will be measured by his goal stats and a three-month barren spell will quickly become a burden. But 1999 hero Yorke believes Welbeck can take heart from United legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham.

“It is a long, gruelling season and it is very hard to maintain a consistent scoring standard. Somewhere along the line

strikers will have a dip,” Yorke told M.E.N. Sport. “At the moment it is all about Robin van Persie and so it should be. But you have to stick in there.

“Danny is working his socks off. I have the privilege at times of going down to the Carrington training centre and I see the work he is putting in.

“He won’t be totally happy that he has been playing out of position a fair bit. I am sure he would rather be in the centre.

“But he’s young and he’s learning his trade. He’ll have to be patient because I expect when Robin and Wayne are fit they will be playing.

“But he shouldn’t be too downbeat if that happens.

“He only has to look back to how things panned out in the Treble year to take heart.”

Yorke and Andrew Cole’s partnership was the scourge of Europe and the Premier League in the 1998-99 season.

Reds boss Fergie bought Yorke for £12.5m in the summer of 1998 and when Cole finally got the opportunity to team up with him seven matches into Yorke’s formidable Old Trafford career, the pairing was an instant hit.

The chemistry between the two forced Solskjaer and Sheringham into the background as the first-choice’s partnership yielded 40 goals in the matches they started together. But, famously, it was Solskjaer and Sheringham who were the headline-makers in those memorable last five days when the FA Cup and Champions League was gloriously added to the title.

“It’s a squad game and that’s why the manager indulges in a four-strong strike force,” added Yorke. “Coley and I scored lots of goals but I suppose we did run out of steam a bit.

“In the semi-final of the FA Cup and the final neither of us scored. In fact I was sub at Wembley for the Cup final.

“Then, of course, we didn’t score against Bayern Munich in the final at the Nou Camp. It is then someone else has to grasp the opportunity and score.

“People will always remember what Ole and Teddy did. Coley and I played the majority of the games and scored most of the goals, but we couldn’t come up with the goods at the end.

“That’s when you need other willing strikers and in our day Ole and Teddy did the business. It was disappointing for me and Coley that we didn’t play better in the Champions League final. But it didn’t matter who scored as long as we won it.

“You want to be the hero and score but, trust me, as long as I won a Champions League medal I didn’t mind who scored in the end.

“And that’s why the manager rotates and makes sure he has the firepower. It was imperative back in 1999.

“Danny Welbeck mustn’t forget that bit of history. He will turn the corner. I think it is only a matter of time before he turns it around. If Robin’s scoring dries up, then he’s got to be ready to fill the gap. If he needs any encouragement then what Ole and Teddy did should be the inspiration.”