Rooney: Success In Sights

This interview first appeared in the current edition of monthly magazine Inside United.

Hard work and consistency: two traits Wayne Rooney insists have helped the Reds carve out a healthy lead in the Barclays Premier League. The striker refers to both qualities frequently during our discussion at Carrington and maintains they'll be just as important in the coming weeks as they have already this term. And with the title race end date drawing closer, the striker says the players are determined to ensure this season’s conclusion has a very different ending to the last campaign...

United currently enjoy a healthy lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League. Are you surprised to have built such a gap?
It’s a great position to be in but nothing is over yet. We’ve just kept plugging away and have been getting results and thankfully the other teams have dropped points. But we have to keep things going, keep pushing on and working hard to make sure that gap stays as big as possible. It’s going to be a big few weeks for us.

How has this season felt to play in?
It’s felt like a roller-coaster to watch at times, particularly in the first half of the campaign, with lots of comebacks and close matches… It’s been an exciting season. There have been some surprise results in general in the league, but you’re going to get that because there are so many tough games. We’ve probably got to where we are by being the most consistent team. Other teams have won a few games then drawn or lost but we’ve managed to win most of our games and it’s because of that consistency that we’re in the position we’re in. We need to make sure we keep that going.

Does having a points cushion affect your mentality or do you try to block that out when you prepare for a game?
You just want to either maintain it or try and extend it by keeping on winning. You never look at the situation and say ‘we’re this many points clear so we can afford to lose a game and draw one or two’. It’s about winning and making sure you don’t drop any points. That’s always been the mentality here and our approach is always to win.

Is last season’s disappointment hovering in your mind as a warning?
Obviously what happened last year was a big disappointment, but as a footballer having the chance to win the Premier League title should be enough to drive you on regardless. I’m sure City will look at what happened last season and still believe they have a chance, so we have to make sure we don’t take any games lightly and that we try to win every game we go into. What happened last season was a terrible disappointment for us and it’s our aim to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.

Presumably the manager will not allow any kind of lapse in focus anyway?
No, definitely not. We have regular team meetings and he speaks to a lot of players individually too, especially some of the younger lads. And his team-talks are brilliant. They really inspire you. It doesn’t matter that we might be a few points clear of other teams, he never lets you feel like that before a match because he wants us to keep going and maintain that lead.

Bar the odd injury, the majority of the squad have been fit in recent weeks – that’s a huge advantage at this stage of the campaign, isn’t it?
Yes, it’s great. We’ve had quite a few injuries at this stage of the season in past years, which has made things tough. Having players fit now is very important because it gives the manager so many options at a time when there are a lot of big matches. If he needs to rest a few players and bring others in he can do that. Hopefully everyone can stay fit between now and the end of the season.

Is the positive twist on early season injuries to players like Kagawa and Nani, and to a degree yourself, that you and they feel relatively fresh?
Yes, definitely. I haven’t played as many games as I normally would have at this point in the season and I do feel fresh and ready for that battle until the end of the season. With the way the manager rotates the team there will be a lot of players who are feeling fresh as well. Some teams tend to field the same team every week and when you get towards the end of the campaign you can lose that sharpness because of that. We should definitely be well prepared.

Also in United’s sights this season is the FA Cup. There seems to be a real appetite to win it this season, is that the feeling in the dressing room?
Definitely. It’s a massive tournament and as important to me as the other competitions. It’s a trophy I’ve never won and as a footballer it’s one I’ve always dreamt of winning.

So filling that hole in your personal trophy haul would obviously mean a lot?
Of course. It’s a tournament I grew up watching and have always wanted to win. I’ve lost a few finals and it’s not a nice feeling. It’s something that we as a club and we as players are determined to win. Hopefully this will be the year.

How would you assess your own season to date?
It’s been a bit of a stop-start season for me with a couple of injuries, which has been a bit disappointing. I just want to keep myself fit until the end of the season now and play as many as games as I can and help the team be successful.

You’ve played in a number of positions, including orthodox centre-midfield, the tip of a diamond, wide and up front. Have you enjoyed that variation?
It’s been a different experience but something I’ve enjoyed. I’ve played all across the midfield and up front and it allows you to pick up different knowledge of the game, which can only help you. If the manager needs me to play in any position I’ll always do it.

You’ve got a couple of significant milestones coming up – 400 games and 200 goals. Are they important to you?
It’s great to have played so many games for this club at such a young age and it would be nice to get to that 200 goals mark. It would be an achievement I’d be proud of. Hopefully I can get to it between now and end of the season.

Do you see yourself as a senior statesman in the side? You’re someone the young players always talk about looking up to…
[Smiles] You speak to the younger players as much as you can and try to pass on the knowledge you’ve picked up over the years that you feel can help them. That’s what all the players I’ve played with have done with me, and you want to do the same because some of the younger lads don’t know everything about the game and what challenges they’re going to face. So you want to help them out, and I’m sure when those younger players are a bit older they’ll be doing the same thing for the lads coming through under them.

How would you sum up Robin van Persie’s contribution this season?
He’s been brilliant for us and has scored a lot of goals. He fitted in straight away and is fantastic to play with – he holds the ball up well, has great movement and makes great runs. Everyone was delighted when he signed as we knew he could bring a lot to the team and he’s proved that.

What’s he like in the dressing room?
He’s fitted in really well. This club has always been brilliant at making new players feel very welcome very quickly whenever they sign, and it was the same with Robin. He’s an outgoing person who gets on with everyone.

What is this current United side like to play in?
It’s brilliant. The team spirit is always good and whenever new players come in they are always welcomed into the squad very quickly. Everyone gets on well and works hard for each other on the pitch. We have always had a great team spirit under the manager.

As well as the seasoned pros in the squad, the younger players have time on their side and are gathering experience all the time. How good do you think this team could be in three or four years?
Being successful this season is really important because it would give us a great platform to kick on in the next few years. Once the young players get their first taste of silverware with the club they’ll realise just how good it feels and they’ll want to keep doing it again and again. Hopefully they’ll get to taste it this season.