Herrera: Why We Need Wayne

Ander Herrera is grateful to have Wayne Rooney in his corner as Manchester United head into the final make-or-break week of a demanding league season.

The Reds will leapfrog rivals Manchester City into fourth place in the Barclays Premier League if an away win is achieved in the penultimate game against West Ham on Tuesday night and Herrera feels Rooney could be a key creative figure once again after his assist for Juan Mata's winning goal at Norwich City on Saturday.

"Wayne is a world-class player," Herrera told reporters after the game at Carrow Road.

"He’s a very good captain and he’s not selfish, so you always have to have Wayne in the team and in the dressing room. Some of the big players are so selfish sometimes but Wayne isn’t and that’s so important."

Rooney and Herrera both had to adapt quickly ahead of the Norwich clash, with the skipper being asked to play in attack and the midfielder finding himself in the starting line-up instead of on the bench after Anthony Martial was injured in the warm-up. While Wayne didn't edge any closer to Sir Bobby Charlton's club goals record of 249, he still impressed his Spanish team-mate.

"I know Marcus [Rashford] and Anthony [Martial] are quicker, but we know Wayne’s qualities," said Herrera. "He can assist, he can hold the ball very well and he can play as one midfielder more [an extra midfielder] when we have the ball. That’s important when you are a team that likes to be the protagonist in the game.

"I was the one who had to play instead of Anthony, so I told him he has to be ready for the next game! Albert [Stuivenberg, first-team coach] came to me and I was ready to play. I always want to play as much as possible, I will always be ready."

Herrera will now stand by for more action at Upton Park after helping the Reds to win there in last month's Emirates FA Cup quarter-final replay. If he features in the final competitive fixture at West Ham's ground, he'll draw upon an experience from his career in Spain - Athletic Club's farewell to the historic old San Mamés Stadium before they moved to a new venue of the same name for the start of the 2013/14 season.

"I played in the last game at San Mamés," he revealed, "so I know it’s going to be very special for West Ham and their fans.

"West Ham have had big games there and they have enjoyed a lot of them but hopefully they don’t enjoy the last game. We’re playing for the top four, so we have to show that we are playing for something very important."