London - Wayne Rooney has admitted he is under pressure to prove himself all over again at Manchester United under new manager Jose Mourinho this season.
Rooney was a key player under Mourinho’s predecessor Louis van Gaal, who made him captain during his two-year reign at Old Trafford before the Dutchman was axed.
The forward lifted the FA Cup in May in what proved to be Van Gaal’s final game in charge as United celebrated their first trophy since Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
But after turning 30 last October and enduring a disappointing Euro 2016 with England, Rooney acknowledged that he is under pressure to achieve success on a personal level and with United under the new regime.
‘I think you always feel pressure when you play for Manchester United,’ said Rooney, who is unlikely to feature in either of the tour games against Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City as he builds up his fitness during the eight-day tour of China.
‘It’s one of the biggest - if not the biggest - football clubs in the world. It’s a pleasure to play for them for so long.
‘Always you feel you have to prove yourself each season. Of course there’s pressure, there is pressure to be successful.’
Rooney was quite clear when quizzed about the club’s prospects under Mourinho, having joined up with United’s new manager for the first time on Monday.
New signings Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly are already in place, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic still to report for pre-season training, and United continue to pursue a potential world-record deal for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has been in talks with Juve and Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola, but is expected to attend the second stage of the tour in Beijing.
‘I’m excited,’ said Rooney. ‘I think it’s going to be a big season for us.
‘The appointment of Jose Mourinho is a fantastic appointment. The players are all excited by it. The signings we’ve made have been fantastic. Hopefully we can have a good start to the season and be successful at the end of it.
‘I’ve only had one day with him before we came out but it was a very good training session.
‘You have to look at the teams he has been at before and the success he has brought to those teams. We hope and believe he can bring that success to us.’
Mourinho demonstrated the close bond that exists with his five-man backroom team by choosing to sit with them in economy on the 12-hour flight from Manchester rather than travel in luxury a longside his players in a business class seat on board a plane operated by club sponsors Aeroflot.
It landed on time but a 90-minute delay clearing passport control and immigration at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport had United rushing to two commercial events.
It meant they left more than 200 Chinese fans gathered at their city centre hotel disappointed because they arrived through a back entrance. Rooney was the star attraction alongside Ander Herrera and Mkhitaryan at a rather bizarre reception to celebrate the club’s new partnership with Gulf Oil International.
It started with the United captain being asked to introduce himself before naming his favourite traditional Chinese dish (‘foo yung’ was the answer), and ended with him being made to say an awkward goodbye to his audience in Mandarin.
All three United players were then ushered out of the hotel suite by the club’s security staff to avoid a scrum as those fans who had been given access to the event tried to get closer to their heroes.
Those assembled outside the hotel had been left even more disappointed earlier, including some who had been waiting several hours.
One said: ‘I have flown here from Singapore. It took five hours, so I’m upset that I did not get a chance to see the players or Jose Mourinho.’
Daily Mail