David Moyes believes Wayne Rooney may be able to play every game this season, though the Manchester United manager will monitor the striker to ensure he receives a break if required.

When fit Rooney has been chosen in every match this season, the striker scoring eight times in 17 games and being among United's most potent creative forces, as he was again in the 5-0 midweek victory at Bayer Leverkusen that confirmed United's passage into the Champions League knockout phase.

Rooney will start again in Sunday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur, with Shinji Kagawa expected to continue at No10 as Robin van Persie's groin problem makes the Dutchman a doubt.

Regarding Rooney, Moyes said: "There will be times when we do have to look after him. At the moment he doesn't need it. But I will be looking for any signs of a dip. I look at a lot of other clubs and they have played their players continuously. It's just at United here we've got a squad, we can rotate them, we have got other options. So I think I'll try and just wait. If it [a dip] doesn't come around, I don't need to [rest him] and won't do it."

Rooney's best form is always a result of him playing consistently. "He is a boy who continually gets better in the games he plays," said Moyes. "It doesn't really seem to affect him in a way it does others. The point I'm making is I just want to make sure I keep him playing as well as he is doing."

Moyes believes that the display offered by the Kagawa-Rooney pairing at Leverkusen means there is less pressure to bring back Van Persie early. "I always thought we had other combinations that we could play," the manager said. "You'll very rarely go through a season without having injuries or suspensions and we had to make sure we had other solutions if it did happen. Robin had his injury and so we played Shinji at No10. We've played him on the left before, where he plays for Japan as well, so I think he's good in either position."

Moyes believes United can cope without Van Persie despite the Dutchman being such a pivotal figure in last season's title triumph. "If we were without Robin at any point we needed to make sure we could come up with the goals and make sure it wasn't just Robin," he said. "The other night we certainly did and we had to make sure we keep that going."

Ryan Giggs, who celebrated his 40th birthday on Friday, was among United's finest performers on Wednesday and could be in line to start at Tottenham. "It's something we have to look at," said Moyes. "But we take our lead from Ryan as much as anything. Ryan tells us how he feels, when he thinks he's right. A lot of that we take from how he feels."

The manager is concerned that United require more consistency. After the 1-0 win over Arsenal at Old Trafford they followed with a 2-2 draw Cardiff City in their last league game, conceding a late equaliser.

As they are still seven points behind the leaders, Arsenal, the Scot thinks their form can be characterised as "two steps forward, one step back" at the moment. "Yes, we have to get a better level of consistency. I look around the Premier League and that's [lack of consistency] been quite noticeable throughout really. Arsenal are the one side who have shown a real consistency as we're about to go into December. They're the one side who has shown that. We have dropped some points we shouldn't have done and we have to try to eradicate that.

"I think there's a little bit of [a lack of] concentration and a bit of us still being a work in progress really, us trying to work together to get everything we want to be correct, and we've still got a bit to go on that."

However Moyes does think that those clubs above United, who stand six, are conscious of the champions coming up on the rails. "People are always aware of Manchester United. I don't think people have in any way [disallowed] Manchester United. I think everybody knows we'll be there or thereabouts come the end and I believe that as well."

Regarding whether Nemanja Vidic's recovery from concussion and Van Persie's groin problem will allow them to travel to Spurs, Moyes said: "I'm going to try to see if I can involve them in the squad but until [Saturday] I won't make a decision."

While Giggs was given a coach's stop watch by his team-mates as a humorous present to recognise his status as player-coach, the squad also joked further by wearing face-masks of the midfielder and putting up posters in the changing room of the Welshman when he was younger that made him appear as if a member of a boy-band. In response Giggs jokingly refused to make a speech to mark his birthday when asked.