Rooney Acclaims Strike Options

Wayne Rooney believes United's options in attack can blast the Reds to glory this season as he looks forward to facing Tottenham on Saturday.

The England striker returned from injury in Wednesday's Capital One Cup win against Newcastle and excelled in a deeper role than usual but admits he still seems himself as a centre-forward.

"There is a lot of competition up front," he told PA Sport. "It is great for the team. Robin [van Persie], Danny [Welbeck], Shinji [Kagawa], Javier [Hernandez] and myself are fighting for one or two places. It is great for the squad.

"The manager will rotate when he feels it is necessary. I am just looking forward to getting amongst the games in the Premier League and the Champions League."

When asked about his ideal position, he replied: "Anywhere! I am a centre-forward, whether that is playing high or just behind a centre-forward is for the manager to decide.

"There are options but there are a lot of games throughout the season. It is great for the squad that we have players with real quality. It means we can get a rest here and there to make sure we are ready for the big games towards the end of the season."

Spurs have a poor record at Old Trafford but Andres Villas-Boas will be looking forward to pitting his wits against Sir Alex this weekend.

"We always seem to do well against Tottenham," added Rooney. "Hopefully that will continue. Tottenham are a good team with great players. We know it will be tough and we will need to be at our best to beat them. The most important thing is the result. We would like to play a little bit better and not concede as many goals as we have early in the season. It is something we have been working on. Hopefully it will happen for us."