Alex Ferguson shrugged off Wayne Rooney's off-field indiscretions and insisted Manchester United's star striker will be in better shape for the Premier League opener
Alex Ferguson shrugged off Wayne Rooney's off-field indiscretions and insisted Manchester United's star striker will be in better shape for the Premier League opener against Newcastle on August 16.
Rooney failed to find the net in Dublin last night despite United marking the opening of the new ufffd350million Aviva Stadium by romping to a 7-1 win over an Airtricity League XI.
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| Manchester United's Wayne Rooney (right) tries to get past Airtricity League's Ken Oman during their friendly at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin last night. Manchester United won 7-1. Pic/AFP |
Two days after pictures appeared of Rooney smoking and behaving boisterously in the early hours, the England man failed to convert two decent chances on his first appearance since those sorry performances at the World Cup.
However, Ferguson, who was clearly not interested in discussing the 24-year-old's private life, is largely unconcerned and feels that with Sunday's Community Shield and an England friendly with Hungary still to play, there is plenty of room for improvement.
"I am not getting into that," rebuffed Ferguson when asked about the pictures before adding: "He has only been training for six days but he impressed me.
"He will need more training before he plays full games but I will have to play him against Chelsea to bring him on in time for the game against Newcastle.
"By that time he would have played an international too, which could be a good thing."
