Rooney: Goals Reminiscent Of Scholes

Wayne Rooney was delighted to take advantage of the opportunity given to him by Louis van Gaal to push forward more from his midfield role against Newcastle United, producing two goals and an assist.

Likening the style of his brace to that of Reds legend Paul Scholes, Rooney put United on track for a comfortable 3-1 victory with two first-half strikes when surging into the visitors’ area.

Despite a late Papiss Cisse penalty snatching a clean sheet away from the hosts at Old Trafford, the United captain spoke positively of his team’s display.

“It’s a role that I’ve played many times and I know I can play,” Rooney said of his position further behind Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie. “The manager has given me even more licence to get forward and get into the box from that role. As Paul [Scholes] did many times over his career, he could see the ball when it was wide and see the space and run into it – I did that today with my two goals. It’s nice to win, nice to score goals and I’m delighted with the performance.

“It was a good performance, a good win. We were disappointed at the end to concede a goal but, overall, we’ve got to be pleased with the three points.”

The afternoon’s success keeps van Gaal’s men within 10 points of leaders Chelsea and three clear of fourth-placed Southampton, prompting Rooney to maintain an open mind with regards to how the Barclays Premier League could end.

“There’s a long way to go – we know that,” the no.10 stressed. “We’ve chased leads down before over a big number of points. Anything can happen, especially over the next week or two. There are a lot of games and if we can come out of these games the right side with the right results then we’ll be in a good position.”

The Reds travel to London on Sunday to face in-form Tottenham, who won at struggling Leicester City on Boxing Day.

Wayne Rooney was speaking to BT Sport after the match.