LONDON, England, August 5-Wayne Rooney has admitted his recent spat with Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t the first occasion the pair have been at loggerheads over the striker’s below-par fitness according to the Daily Mail.
The publication reported Wednesday that Ferguson was not happy with Rooney’s condition when he returned for pre-season training this season, the United boss even suggested an enforced break after cutting his leg might be just what last season’s top scorer needed to rediscover peak condition.
And now the England striker has admitted Fergie has had to take action when his fitness below the standards required at the Old Trafford.
“As a striker I need to work hard all the time. I need to be sharp, which means my fitness has to be right to play well. If it isn’t, it shows,” he said in an extract of his new book ‘Wayne Rooney: My decade in the Premier League’ in the Mirror, who are serialising his latest autobiography.
“It would probably be different if I were a full-back. I could hide a bit, make fewer runs into the opposition half and get away with it.
“As a centre-forward for Manchester United, there’s no place to hide. I’ve got to work as hard as I can, otherwise the manager will haul me off the pitch or drop me for the next game.
“There’s no room for failure or second best at this club.”
Rooney found that out late last year after he was dropped for a match against Blackburn at Old Trafford. Ferguson was unhappy after it came to light Rooney had been out socialising after a game.
“I’m happy at Manchester United, despite the downs that sometimes take place at a football club,” he continued.
‘Like when we stuff Wigan 5-0 on Boxing Day.
“I go out for dinner with a few of the lads, and our other halves, to a hotel. The next day, the manager pulls me up and tells me he’s not happy and doesn’t feel I’ve trained properly.
“He fines me, but there’s worse to come. I’m dropped for the next game, on New Year’s Eve, against Blackburn.”
