Rooney finally says sorry to United fans
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Following his return to action, Wayne Rooney has reiterated his commitment to United in an exclusive interview with MUTV.
The striker made his first appearance after an eight-match absence when he came on as substitute in Saturday’s win over Wigan. He clearly hopes it will be the first of many more games for the Reds after agreeing a new five-year contract last month.
“As I’ve said before, my long-term future’s here at Manchester United,” Wayne told MUTV. “I want to be here and help the younger players in the same way that Giggsy, Gary Neville and Scholesy have helped me. I want to be here to help them and to help the club continue to be successful. That’s my main aim at United.”
Wayne dismissed rumours his new contract is merely a device to drive up his transfer value.
“I’ve heard people say I’ve agreed a new deal so the club can agree a higher price with a different team somewhere along the line. That’s a load of rubbish. I’ve signed a new deal to stay here, my long-term future is here at Manchester United.”
Rooney also reflected on his first game back after injury, and the fans' reaction to him.
“It was a great feeling after being out for a long time and after the issues which have gone on over the last couple of months,” he said. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about the reaction from the fans. But overall I thought the reception was brilliant. I just wanted to get on the pitch and try and help the team win and to score goals.”
You can watch the full interview on MUTV or by logging into ManUtd.com. -
Wayne Rooney will start for Manchester United in their Champions League tie away to Rangers. Photograph: Jon Super/AP
Wayne Rooney has expressed his gratitude to Manchester United's supporters for easing his concerns about being openly abused but the striker stopped short of the public apology that Sir Alex Ferguson had stated he would deliver.
Rooney will return to United's starting line-up in their Champions League tie against Rangers tomorrow for the first time since the contract dispute that almost led to him leaving the club but, before flying to Glasgow, the forward took part in a carefully prepared interview with the club's in-house television station to show his appreciation for the way the fans had shown they could forgive him.
An element of the Old Trafford crowd booed when he was brought on as a substitute against Wigan Athletic on Saturday but the dissent was largely drowned out by some prolonged vocal backing for the man who now ranks as the highest-paid player in the club's history.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about the reaction from the fans but, overall, I thought the reception I got was brilliant," Rooney said. "It was a great feeling, after being out for such a long time."
Rooney's sudden volte-face, signing a new five-year contract, had led to suggestions that United wanted to ensure they would get optimum value in the transfer market but the player dismissed that out of hand. "I've heard from different people that I've agreed a new deal only so the club can agree a higher [transfer] price with a different team somewhere along the line, which is a load of rubbish. I've signed a new deal here to stay here. My long-term future is here at Manchester United."
There was, however, no apology, which was perplexing considering that Ferguson had gone on record saying one would be forthcoming, the United manager adding it was necessary because everyone associated with the club had "been hurt" by the player's behaviour.
Ferguson was unwilling to expand on the subject when he took his seat for a press conference at Ibrox this evening – "I've no idea," he said when the question was put to him – and Rooney will get another chance in a pre-recorded interview that will be shown on television directly before the game.
The best form of contrition, perhaps, is to return to the scoring form of last season and Rooney, after eight months of questionable fitness, is undoubtedly in better shape after a gruelling week at a training camp in Portland, Oregon.
"My fitness is coming back," he said. "It was just what I needed. We were leaving for training at nine and getting back at six. I wanted to make sure that, when I did get back into the team, I was fit and ready and that it wasn't going to take four or five games to get back to my best."
His return comes at a strange time for United, whose unbeaten run of 27 games masks the fact they have been playing below their usual standard, leading to some self-critical analysis from the manager. Ferguson openly blamed himself for making too many changes – "I don't think I've played the same team enough to get a level of consistency," he said – and he used this as mitigation when asked about the loss of form that led to Dimitar Berbatov not even making the substitutes' bench against Wigan.
"In fairness to Dimitar we've been changing the strike partners quite a lot this season. I have to accept responsibility for that and perhaps I changed things too much.
"Now we have to look for more consistency in the team. Hopefully we can get Wayne back to his best and I think Dimitar is suited to playing with Wayne."
The irony is that Ferguson, once again, has taken a calculated gamble, leaving his regular centre-halves, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, in Manchester to prepare for Saturday's game against Blackburn Rovers, despite United needing a draw at Ibrox to guarantee a place in the next stage of the competition.
Darren Fletcher was also missing from the travelling party, having picked up an injury in the Wigan match, although Ferguson is clearly encouraged by being able to call upon the reigning Footballer of the Year. "It's been intense for Wayne. It's not been easy. It's been difficult, hard work. This game is an ideal opportunity for him in terms of coming back to the level we know he's capable of reaching."
Ferguson also cleared up the latest on United's £3.5m move to sign Anders Lindegaard, the Denmark goalkeeper, from the Norwegian club Aalesunds: "Nothing's completed at the moment. It will probably happen in the next two or three weeks. The announcement last week was probably a wee bit premature."Manchester United (possible, 4-3-2-1): Van der Sar; Brown, Smalling, Evans, O'Shea; Scholes, Carrick, Park; Obertan, Nani; Rooney. Subs: Kuszczak, Rafael, Evra, Gibson, Hernández, Giggs, Macheda.
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Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has finally apologised to the club's fans following the week-long contract saga last month.
Rooney seemed set to leave United, and he angered the fans by issuing the statement that he wanted to quit the club in the hours running up to a Champions League game against Bursaspor. He eventually signed a new long-term contract but the damage had been done.
After being sent to the United States for a week of conditioning work, Rooney made his return to first-team action as a substitute in Saturday's 2-0 home win over Wigan Athletic but his introduction from the bench was met by a mixed reaction from those inside Old Trafford.
Rooney scored United's winner against Rangers from the penalty spot on Wednesday night, a first step in repairing his relationship with the supporters, and his apology will further enhance his chances of putting the affair behind him.
"I feel like I have apologised to the fans but everyone keeps saying that I haven't,'' said Rooney. "If that is the case, then I apologise for my side of things. I have made my point clear since I signed my contract that I am committed to this club for the long term. I want to be successful here.
"Everyone is saying that I was definitely going to Manchester City. Believe me if I had gone it wouldn't have been in England.''
Rooney admitted that leaving Old Trafford could have been the biggest mistake of his career.
"Of course,'' he said. "You see so many players leave this club and not do so well so I am delighted to have stayed.
"I spoke with the manager and (chief executive) David Gill. They reassured me the club was moving forward and from that it took maybe two or three hours to negotiate my contract and sign it.
"It wasn't a distraction to my football because I haven't played that much but it was a distraction overall. I am just happy it is all over now. I want to put it behind me and look forward.''
Rooney insisted he will bounce back and is desperate to add to his Champions League goal at Ibrox.
"Mentally I have been okay,'' he said. "Because the football has not been going well and other things have happened, everyone has put it down to not being mentally strong enough. But I am.
"Obviously the most important thing for me at the minute is to play and score goals.''
On his trip to the States to improve his fitness, he said: "I wasn't going to argue with the manager. I needed to get the training in and if that is what they wanted me to do I was happy to do it.
"Going to the States has helped a lot. Normally when I have been injured it has taken me four or five games to feel I was back to full fitness and I would feel it in the last 20 minutes of matches. Against Rangers I felt good in the last 20 minutes.
"People are saying how bad I have been playing but I haven't played enough games for my form to be a disaster. With everything that has happened, the reaction all goes a bit overboard. But I have been through patches before when I haven't played well and come through them.
"I know 100% I will come through this one.''