Champions League is 'everything to Rooney'

Wayne Rooney is “desperate” to win the Champions League this season and believes Manchester United blew their chance last term.

Wayne Rooney is “desperate” to win the Champions League this season and believes Manchester United blew their chance last term.

United looked good bets to conquer Europe after their 7-1 drubbing of Roma in the quarter-finals, only to be comprehensively outplayed by eventual winners AC Milan in the second leg of the semi-final.

Roma are United’s opponents again tonight in the group stage of the competition but Rooney already has his eyes on the main prize.

He said: “I’m desperate to win the Champions League having got so close last year.

“We didn’t play the way we can in the semi-final and that cost us away against Milan.

“Hopefully we can go on and get to final this year.

“We have got that little bit more experience and the players that have been brought in can add freshness towards the end of the season.”

Five of United’s last seven games have ended in 1-0 wins but Sir Alex Ferguson insists there is no problem with his strikers, despite a scarcity of goals.

Ferguson said: “All the front players have been slow to get on to their game - that’s understandable with Wayne with his injury and (Carlos) Tevez missing pre-season.

“They are getting better and will continue to do that. I think the partnership is good, using Wayne as a more advanced player and Carlos dropping in.

“They have that understanding, there are moments when Wayne drops in or drifts to the side but that’s not a problem for us, it keeps our flow going.

“We know that Wayne can penetrate, that Cristiano Ronaldo can penetrate, and Carlos can in a different way, so I’m happy with that and I don’t think there’s a problem at all.

“Good players with the ability they have got will soon gel.”

Defenders Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic are doubts after the pair picked up knocks at Birmingham – John O’Shea and Gerard Pique will step in if they fail fitness tests – but Owen Hargreaves trained this morning and is in line to make his European debut for United.

Ferguson admitted he might be tempted to bring the former Bayern Munich midfielder straight back into the fray despite his lack of match practice.

He said: “Hargreaves is a possibility but to be honest I would have liked for him to have had some more football for such an important game.

“European football is a different level for speed and tactics.”

more courts articles

Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape Stephen Bear ordered to pay back profits from sharing private sex tape
Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told Gary Glitter victim seeking six-figure sum in damages, court told
Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother Man (25) in court charged with murdering his father and attempted murder of mother

More in this section

Republic of Ireland Training Session and Media Conference Ogbene ruled out for 'few weeks'
Chelsea v Leicester City - Barclays Women's Super League - Kingsmeadow Willie Kirk sacked as Leicester boss after position became ‘untenable’
St Patrick's Athletic v Shelbourne - SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division Damien Duff: 'The leading light of Irish football is not the national team but the league itself'
Sport Push Notifications

By clicking on 'Sign Up' you will be the first to know about our latest and best sporting content on this browser.

Sign Up
Sport
Newsletter

Latest news from the world of sport, along with the best in opinion from our outstanding team of sports writers

Sign up
Cookie Policy Privacy Policy Brand Safety FAQ Help Contact Us Terms and Conditions

© Examiner Echo Group Limited