Boss: Wayne's Going To Shine

Sir Alex is confident Wayne Rooney's goal against Birmingham City on Sunday will be the first of many this season for the England striker.

Rooney's goal – a simple tap-in after his header had come off the post – took his tally in a United shirt to 99 and gave the Reds an opening-day win for the first time in three years.

"Wayne took his goal well," Sir Alex told MUTV. "The header was a good one and then he reacted the right way – he was quick to follow up. That gets him on the road to what we hope will be a very significant total for us this season.

"It’s good if you can get two or three of your players to score more than 20 goals. Wayne’s capable of that – we’re not asking him to do the impossible."

United dazzled only in fits and starts against newly-promoted Birmingham City, although the manager was quick to highlight the visitors' defensive qualities.

"The first game of the season is like that for us sometimes – Reading got a 0-0 here a couple of years ago – but three points is better than we've got from our first game in the last two years.

"Today, the way Birmingham set their stall out, they were always going to be very determined, resilient and hard to break down.

"That’s understandable – they’ve come out of the Championship and they’re desperate to stay in the top flight. They’ve got a lot of experience in their team and that was noticeable with the amount of shots they blocked – I think Scholesy alone had four shots blocked inside the box."

Sir Alex's men also defended resolutely, notching a clean sheet despite the absence of regular centre-backs Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

"I think clean sheets are always an indication of your determination to defend well as a team. I’ll take eight 1-0 results every season.

"It’s not great on the nerves but this club’s famous for that – nobody gets an easy ride here, not the supporters, not the staff, the players nor myself. We always keep the fans on the edge of their seats – it’s exciting.

"Ben Foster made a fantastic save in the second half. He looked very comfortable and relaxed in his role today and I think he’s learnt from last week at Wembley.

"That was an unusually nervy performance from him last week. We know he has ability and he proved that again today."