Trailing at half-time to a Matt Derbyshire goal, without key central defender Nemanja Vidic, who was stretchered off with a shoulder injury that will keep him out for at least four weeks, and Wayne Rooney apparently leaving his shooting boots at home, United looked to set to suffer a major stumble in their championship quest.

But a moment of magic from Paul Scholes hauled the Red Devils level, paving the way for Michael Carrick, Park Ji-sung and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to seal a win that leaves United tantalisingly close to ending their four-year title wait.

"The second half performance was our best of the season," said Ferguson.

"It was the kind of performance you expect from a championship team. We showed resolve, determination and drive.

"I think the fans are starting to smell it now - and the players are beginning to taste it."

After their recent last-gasp wins at Fulham and Liverpool, this was another occasion where United showed all their old battling qualities.

Having won two titles with the Red Devils during his own playing days, Rovers boss Mark Hughes knows exactly what is required to lift major honours.

And, while United still have to totally shake off Chelsea's challenge, Hughes does not believe the destination of the title is in any doubt.

"United will not be denied now," he said. "In fact I think they will win it comfortably.

"For 60 minutes today we were really in the game. The crowd were a bit anxious and I felt we were going to capitalise on it.

"But they were able to galvanise themselves and show why they are champions-elect.

"This year, they have played the best football and the most expansive. This was a key game in their season, and they won it."

Hughes admitted he feared the worst once Christopher Samba toed the ball into Scholes' path just past the hour mark.

Instead of shooting first time the man whose retirement from England duty appears more damaging by the game skipped past Ryan Nelsen and Stephen Warnock before burying his shot into the bottom corner.

"I have seen Paul do that so many times," sighed Hughes.

"He has such a cool head in those situations and such great technical ability once he got into position, there wasn't much doubt about where the ball was going to end up."

The win did come at a price for United, with Vidic's season virtually over after he fell heavily attempting to win a first-half header.

It will be the beginning of next week before Ferguson knows exactly how long the tough-tackling Serbian will be out.

The early estimates are four to five weeks, which, in terms of United's Treble bid, could be hugely damaging.

With Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre currently out as well, the Red Devils' defensive resources are stretched ahead of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final with Roma at the Olympic Stadium.

However, Ferguson is confident he has the resources to cope.

"We will try to get Nemanja back as quickly as we can," said Ferguson.

"As I have been saying for a while now, the most important thing for us now is for the bench to prove itself.

"We have a few alternatives available to us and I will be looking at the best way to use them."