Rooney: Points Make Prizes

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United’s innate ability to win favours the Reds in the race for the Barclays Premier League title.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side are unbeaten in 13 top-flight matches and have most recently chalked up pivotal triumphs over Fulham and Southampton without playing particularly well, but crucially showing a level of desire and team spirit that could yet yield a 20th championship crown.

Incredibly, whilst notching a couple of hard-fought wins, rivals Manchester City slipped up by recording consecutive draws against QPR and Liverpool, allowing United to move nine points clear at the top with just 13 matches left – although Rooney is not getting carried away.

“The results are the most important thing now,” Wayne says. “You look at City against QPR - they should have got the win, they had a lot of chances but they ended up dropping two points. That could quite easily have happened to us against Southampton. We had to dig in and hold on for the three points. Thankfully we got them.

“We have to keep taking each game as they come and picking up the points whenever we can. I am sure once it comes down to the last four or five games, then we will see what position we are in and work out what we have to do. But for the moment we have to take each game as it comes.”

This season, United have mixed attacking potency with defensive frailty, netting more goals than any other team in the division whilst often conceding first in matches and holding the worst ‘goals against’ tally of any top-six team.

It is a habit that has baffled some - including Sir Alex - but inspired several dramatic comebacks. And as Rooney admits, there is no problem as long as the Reds keep outscoring opponents and maintain the attacking ethos that provides the foundation of the club.

“I can't put my finger on why we are not killing teams off,” Rooney explains. “We have scored plenty of goals - it is the most number of goals we have scored at this stage of the season.

“Maybe we are concerned with conceding goals, because we have conceded too many and have done throughout the season. But that is the way we are playing. That is the way we have been set up to play. We have to just keep our scoring going.

“Once you get an early goal the game settles down. We tend to win a lot more comfortably. When you go behind you end up fighting for the whole game. It can take a lot out of you as well. If you get an early goal it is great because you can see the game out without giving everything.”

Rooney was speaking to ManUtd.com, BBC Radio and Press Association.