Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he hopes to play Wayne Rooney in a more central role this season.
The England international was regularly forced to adapt his game last term as he was asked to play out wide.
Rooney has openly admitted that he would prefer to be deployed down the middle, and it appears that his manager may be about to grant him his wish.
"Yes, Rooney will go through the middle this season, there's no doubt about that," Ferguson said in the News of the World.
"Last season was a lot to do with Dimitar Berbatov coming to the club and trying to understand what he was best at.
"You have to utilise what you have available. In some games Wayne played wide left and in some matches it worked, but in others it was not a good position for him. We will change that."
Rooney will be forced to help carry the burden of goalscoring expectancy this season, alongside Berbatov and Michael Owen, with Ferguson admitting he is concerned as to how he is going to counter the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.
"That is a concern because I don't have a midfielder like a young Paul Scholes or a young Ryan Giggs who can give me 15-plus goals a season from midfield," he added.
"We will have to redirect our play a little bit more, but Rooney is maturing, Owen Hargreaves will be playing again in September, Nani and Anderson are in their third years and Michael Carrick is more mature."
Lol dun hope la, play him there.
Wayne Rooney is aiming to top the 20-goal mark for Manchester United this season.
With Cristiano Ronaldo now installed at Real Madrid for a world record £80million and Carlos Tevez controversially becoming part of Mark Hughes' expanding squad at Manchester City, more focus will be on Rooney as United look to complete an unprecedented fourth successive league title.
The England star has shown no sign of the pressure affecting him so far even if, despite the encouragement of Chinese supporters, he was unable to get on the mark in an eight-goal romp against Hangzhou Greentown on Sunday.
And, he admits last year's tally of 20 has given him something to improve on.
"I have always said I would like to score more goals than the previous season so that is what I am aiming for again this time," he told www.manutd.com.
"If I can do that I will be really happy."
Although plenty of doubts have been expressed about how United will cope without Ronaldo in particular, Rooney is not too concerned.
With the arrival of Michael Owen United have bolstered their attacking ranks, while £17million new-boy Antonio Valencia links up with his new team-mates in Munich on Monday to bring extra pace.
"I am pretty relaxed about things," said Rooney.
"There are a lot of great players in our team and we know if we all work together then we are capable of achieving great things."
With the Far East leg of their pre-season campaign over, United now meet more meaningful opposition in the Audi Cup.
Nemanja Vidic will join Valencia as an addition to Sir Alex Ferguson's tour squad but the trip has come too soon for Owen Hargreaves, who will continue his recovery from operations on both knees.
Boca Juniors lie in wait on Wednesday, with either Bayern Munich or AC Milan the opponents 24 hours later in what represents the true test of how much work has been done over the past 10 days.
Ferguson is confident the results will be positive, particular with regard to Owen, whose two goals yesterday took his overall tally to four, suggesting he will be a worthy wearer of United's famed number seven shirt.
"The criteria for the number seven is quite clear," said Ferguson.
"It is a jersey that has been worn by some high-profile players so you have to choose someone you are confident can carry that on.
"I am not concerned about what the supporters think - it is important to give it to someone who is confident and comfortable and Michael was a natural choice."
Providing he stays clear of the injuries that disrupted his time at Newcastle so badly, Ferguson is confident the striker can find the net on a regular basis.
The United manager has already set his new recruit a 15-goal target for his debut season, which Owen should achieve if he stays fit, given the number of chances his team-mates tend to create.
"Owen's overall play is well suited to us," he said. "He is very clever in the last third. He knows when to run and when to hold his runs.
"The experience he gives in that position is vital.
"It's not the acid test but things are looking good with that signing because, given his abilities and understanding of play in the last third, we know he will get goals."
Wayne Rooney has vowed to find the net more often this season as the Reds adjust to life after Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo scored 68 goals in his last two seasons at Old Trafford (30 per cent of United's total tally) but will ply his trade in La Liga this term after his world-record £80million move to Real Madrid.
The Portuguese winger's departure has turned up the heat on Rooney and fellow strikers Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Federico Macheda. All are expected to chip in with more goals this term, although it's Rooney fans and the media are focused on.
But if Wayne's feeling the pressure, he's certainly not showing it. "I'm pretty relaxed about things," he told ManUtd.com. "There are a lot of great players in our team and we know if we all work together then we’re capable of achieving great things.
"I’ve always said I'd like to score more goals than I did the previous season [20 in 2008/09] so that’s what I’m aiming for again this time. If I can do that I’ll be really happy."
Rooney's comments came at the tail-end of United's pre-season tour of the Far East, a trip on which the England international's had no trouble finding the back of the net.
He netted the first goal on tour in Malaysia before scoring again against FC Seoul in Korea.
Now, however, he's switching his focus to the Audi Cup in Munich, where the Reds will take on Boca Juniors and Bayern Munich or AC Milan.
"You want more difficult games as pre-season progresses and I think the matches in Germany will be a really good test for the team.
"We're still a couple of games off peak performace and from a personal point of view there's still a bit of work to do.
"It's important we take the games in Munich seriously and put a lot of hard work in to make sure our match-fitness is up to the required standard for the beginning of the season."
Sir Alex Ferguson will hand Wayne Rooney a centre forward role this season after backing him to replace Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of Manchester United's goalscoring charts.
Rooney has been deployed in a variety of roles in recent years, with the England international often shifted out wide or into a deeper position.
But with Ronaldo having moved to Real Madrid, Ferguson needs to find another regular source of goals and he believes Rooney will relish the challenge.
The United boss said: "I don't think the responsibility of getting more goals will affect Wayne at all.
"He's got the mental strength for all that kind of thing.
"He's proved that time and time again.
"He will be used as a central striker this season. He goes on these bursts of goals.
"Last season I think he hit seven in a row at one point - but if he can do that more consistently over the season, he will get to 25 and above.
"But Wayne is a totally different type of player to Ronaldo.
"I don't think you can compare them, they are such different types."