Sir Alex Ferguson insists Dwight Yorke may not like his squad rotation policy, but he understands it.

Yorke is expected to be on the Manchester United bench today against Aston Villa now that Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole are fully fit.

The return of top-scorer Sheringham and Cole will push Yorke back down the pecking order at a time when he thought he had finally turned the corner in what he admits has been a difficult season.

The £12.6m striker was missing from last weekend's win over Bradford, fuelling speculation that he had had another bust-up with Ferguson, but the United manager claimed he had a knee injury.

It is understood that while Yorke is unhappy at being left out of the side, he is still prepared to stay and fight for his place.

That is the sort of attitude Ferguson wants to see and he said: ''I think probably apart from only the first couple of weeks of the season we've not had four strikers available.

''But we have now and that brings us back to that old headache of choosing two from four, but it is a great advantage really.

''It's something we have been used to dealing with for quite a while. The players don't like it, but they understand it.''

The champions take an 11-point lead into the Old Trafford match and they are raring to go following their five-day training camp in Spain this week.

By contrast, Villa had a tough FA Cup replay against Newcastle in midweek and Ferguson claimed the Reds' Iberian interlude had been most worthwhile.

''Looking at the weather here, it was a good decision to go,'' he said.

''The training surfaces were absolutely fantastic over there and the surfaces were like bowling greens.

''That part was very, very good. The weather was OK, but nothing special, and it was only really warm on Wednesday.

''But it gave us the opportunity to work on certain aspects with the players and in the main it was a good break.''

Sven-Goran Eriksson will watch the game and the new England boss is due to meet United's assistant manager Steve McClaren, who is part of his coaching team, before the match.

Eriksson will no doubt become a frequent visitor to Old Trafford and the Swede was also keen to speak to Ferguson at some point.

Eriksson will be disappointed to hear that Paul Scholes is still sidelined with his rib injury, but he could well see Nicky Butt, who should return from his hip injury.

Meanwhile, Ferguson claims Mark Bosnich's move to Chelsea from United on a free transfer is the right move for the player.

Bosnich slipped to third choice following the arrival of Fabien Barthez in the summer and Ferguson insists the Australian was right to leave in search of first-team football.

''It will be a relief for Mark because you must want first-team football at his age,'' he said.

''I'm very pleased with Fabien Barthez and I think he's one of the finest goalkeepers in the world."

Villa manager John Gregory has pleaded for club record signing Juan Pablo Angel to be given time to adjust to the Premiership before he is judged a success or failure.

Villa's £9.5m capture from River Plate could not face a more daunting debut than at Old Trafford.

Gregory believes the Colombian international, who scored 17 goals in 17 games for River Plate before his on-off move finally went through, has the temperament to deal with such an occasion.

But, whether he scores a hat-trick or has a nightmare, Gregory wants any verdict on Angel not to be delivered for a couple of months