Yorke Toasts RVP Impact

Former Reds striker Dwight Yorke has lavished praise on current favourite Robin van Persie.

The Dutchman is joint-top scorer in the Barclays Premier League with Michu of Sunday's opponents Swansea City. And Yorke, who enjoyed an incredible debut season at Old Trafford when helping fire the club to the Treble in 1999, is delighted with the way that the 29-year-old has adapted to life in Manchester.

"You have to look at Robin as being our player of the season so far," Yorke told ManUtd.com. "He’s come with a big reputation on the back of a fantastic year of goalscoring for Arsenal and he’s carried that on here. And he has stayed fit which has been key.

"He’s been scoring on a regular basis which has been great to see. When you’re a striker it doesn’t matter how well you play, you’re always judged on goals and he’s been firing them in. He’s been outstanding."

Yorke is fully aware that the busy festive period can have a huge impact on the race for the title but is confident that Sir Alex's side can remain in top gear. "Things have gone pretty well so far," he added. "To be six points ahead at this stage is a good achievement, but the manager knows how important it is to maintain that advantage over the Christmas period and make sure we’re on top.

"It’s great that we have players coming back from injuries, particularly Nemanja Vidic and I think the team is looking stronger and stronger and competition for places is very healthy. This is the time of year when teams at the top kick on and take some momentum into the second half of the season - hopefully we can do that."