Rio Ferdinand’s first goal in 140 appearances for the Old Trafford outfit provided the launchpad for United’s biggest Barclays Premiership win of the season, which included a scintillating masterclass from Wayne Rooney.

The England forward struck brilliantly either side of the interval before Ruud van Nistelrooy wrapped up the win with a penalty Ferguson claims his side never get.

It was a victory and a performance which brought unbridled jubilation from the home fans, who have seen their club lurch from one crisis to another this season but, on the eve of Roy Keane’s move to Celtic, have finally been given a glimpse of what could be.

The result also saw United move into second spot and reduce Chelsea’s Premiership lead to nine points.

As they made their short journey home, Wigan – who have now lost five Premiership games in a row – must now realise just how tough the top flight can be.

Ferguson’s publicly-aired view of United’s treatment by the media came with a hint of paranoia but the ‘them and us’ mentality is a familiar feature throughout his entire managerial career.

He used it regularly during his Aberdeen days and it proved a useful device during his difficult early years at Old Trafford, long before he created the multiple trophy-winning monster which is now threatening to consume him.

For all the Scot’s bluster, some of which is justified, some not, what he requires more than anything is a team which wins games, something his side have not done anywhere near enough on home soil this term.

Far too many draws, and a single defeat to Blackburn, have undermined United’s efforts at home and abroad and the chronic lack of a cutting edge has been chiefly responsible.

So, when former United apprentice Mike Pollitt produced four outstanding stops in the opening half-hour to deny his old club, it was understandable a worried frown must have appeared on Ferguson’s face.

After denying Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher and Rooney, the best of Pollitt’s series of saves came at the expense of Van Nistelrooy, who did brilliantly to keep his volley down only for the Wigan keeper to match the Dutchman’s efforts with a stupendous stop to his left.

It proved to be the height of Ferguson’s anxiety as, from the corner which followed Ferdinand put his team in front with a deft near-post header Pollitt could only steer further into his own goal.

Ferdinand celebrated exactly like a man whose previous 139 United appearances had yielded precisely no goals but the unbridled glee of his team-mates provided ample evidence of the strain they were under to produce.

If Ferdinand was an unlikely hero, Rooney was an entirely predictable one.

Looking at the situation from the outside, it is difficult to see how any club with such a golden talent in their midst could be described as being in crisis.

Is it unfortunate or completely unrelated that one of Rooney’s rare barren spells has coincided with United’s fall from grace? In any case, the period in the wilderness was ended in sensational fashion with a one-two either side of the interval which underlined the 20-year-old’s importance, not just to United, but England’s World Cup hopes.

His first was a solo effort, which even included a slip as he collected Fletcher’s pass inside the Wigan box.

Rooney may have been on his knees, but somehow he still managed to regain control and wriggle past Stephane Henchoz before rising to his feet, beating Leighton Baines with embarrassing ease and then beating Pollitt with a thunderous low left-foot shot.

Van Nistelrooy deserved plenty of credit for Rooney’s second, for it was the Dutchman’s perfectly-placed through-ball which sent the former Everton striker clean through.

There was not the slightest moment of panic from Rooney, who charged through, stared into Pollitt’s eyes, then beat the goalkeeper with clinical efficiency, chipping supremely into the net.

Really, it should have been Rooney’s hat-trick goal, because he had only just spurned a better chance than the two he took when he rapped Gary Neville’s cross onto the bar with the goal gaping.

Had Van Nistelrooy been in generous mood, Rooney would still have collected the match ball. But, after referee Alan Wiley had harshly ruled Pollitt had sent the Dutchman tumbling in the area, Van Nistelrooy opted to take the penalty kick himself.

It might be Christmas, but this is no time to be handing presents out from Old Trafford.