London – Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney claimed to be “a lot more mature on the pitch” in an interview conducted for the Sunday Times a few days before he was sent off against West Ham United on Saturday.
Rooney left his team a man short for the last half an hour and they only just held on to a 2-1 lead, with the visitors having a goal disallowed for offside in the last minute.
He caught West Ham midfielder Stewart Downing high on the thigh with a professional foul to prevent a breakaway, and referee Lee Mason immediately produced a straight red card.
“I’m a lot more mature on the pitch. Off the pitch too,” Rooney was quoted as saying in the interview published on Sunday.
“I read the game a lot better and there’s certain situations where you can use your experience.”
Rooney will now miss United’s next three Premier League games, against his former club Everton, West Bromwich Albion and league leaders Chelsea.
In a wide-ranging interview he also told the Sunday Times that the next two or three years could be his best because “I now know exactly what I want to do on the pitch and I’m fit and ready to do it”.
He said that he hoped to spend the rest of his career at Old Trafford and was expecting to play as a striker for another two or three seasons before switching to a deeper role, although “it’s down to the manager (Louis van Gaal) and I’ll accept it”.
Van Gaal, he said, is “incredible” in his attention to detail and Rooney claims to have benefited from the Dutchman’s habit of having every training session filmed and getting the players to watch the recording.
He named Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of Paul Scholes as his best United teammate and said his toughest opponent is Chelsea’s John Terry whom he will not now be able to play against in four weeks’ time. – Reuters