Exclusive: Wayne Rooney Interview (Part 1)

Wayne Rooney returned to action against Aston Villa last weekend to turn the FA Cup tie around in a 20-minute cameo. He made one goal and scored another in his first game back from a virus-enforced spell on the sidelines.

In this interview with Inside United magazine, he talks about the season so far and what the future holds...

Aside from injuries, has the season gone better than you had hoped for or were you expecting more?
It’s been very much stop-start for me to be honest. I broke my foot in the first league game of the season and then came back and went on a good run. I then injured my ankle and came back again. Hopefully I can have a good run in the side now and keep scoring goals. We’ve got ourselves into a good position in the league. We had a poor start to the season and even after the first month or so I think we were all worried that we’d already dropped quite a few points. Since then we’ve done well. We’ve also seen that the other top teams around us like Arsenal and Liverpool can drop points as well, so that gives us confidence going into the second half of the campaign.

You scored eight goals in seven games during October and November - is that your best form ever?
I don’t think I was playing at my best, but in terms of goalscoring it was the best period of my career so far, which was pleasing. When you’re on a run like that you go into every game believing you’ll get chances and that you'll put them away.

When you're not scoring how do you cope with criticism – do you accept that it comes with the territory at United?
Yeah, you have to. I think any forward accepts the fact that you’ll get criticism if you’re not scoring. You just have to get used to it and focus on your game.

Many people questioned your partnership with Carlos Tevez as well, but did you always believe it would work out?
Definitely. He’s a great player and he’s done really well since he joined the club and I think we’re working well together. I think our partnership proves that all good players can play together no matter how similar you are.

The manager picked Tevez’s goal against Middlesbrough, which you set up with a back-heel, as his favourite of the campaign so far...
It was a good goal and all about instint. I knew as soon as he passed the ball that he was going to move in behind me and I managed to get it back to him and he finished it off brilliantly. It was a good goal and I was really pleased for him.

Tevez and the other lads who joined this season seem to have taken to life at United quickly – what have they brought to the dressing room and have they joined in the pranks yet?
Yeah, they have! Nani is a really funny lad around the dressing room. He’s picked the language up very quickly, probably more so than Carlos and Anderson. Anderson is another who likes a joke, whereas Carlos is pretty quiet and usually just sits and looks on, having a laugh to himself! Owen [Hargreaves] already knew a lot of the players from the England set-up and he’s a really good lad. So they’ve all fitted in very well.

You said before the season started that you felt this squad is the strongest you’ve been involved in during your time at United. Are you sticking by that statement?
I think that’s been proved by the way in which players have come in and performed when someone has been out with an injury. We’ve dealt with setbacks like that very well. That’s when you see the strength of the squad. I think being champions has given us a lot of confidence. The pressure to succeed is still there especially as every team we play always wants to do well against us. But there’s a real belief in the dressing room and, for me, it’s definitely the strongest squad I’ve been involved in.

Some people have suggested that United rely too heavily on yourself and Ronaldo – do you feel any particular pressure regarding that?
No. More importantly we know football is a team game and it’s the whole team that should take credit, not just individual players. Every member of the squad plays their part and as a team we win together and we lose together.

Finally, you skippered a very young United side in the final Champions League group game against Roma. How did you feel as you stepped out of the tunnel at the Stadio Olimpico?
It was a great feeling to lead the team out and a big achievement for me. I was skipper for the first time against Copenhagen at Old Trafford last season, but to do it again against a team like Roma was a real privilege. Against Copenhagen a couple of the lads were injured in the warm-up and the manager told me only just before we were due to go out. With the Roma game he told me a few days before, so I had time to get excited and prepare for it. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to do it again.

Please do stay tuned for Part 2 of this interview.......