Wayne Rooney reveals five Manchester United players controlled dressing room
Friday 19 October 2018 09:07, UK
Wayne Rooney says he was one of five senior Manchester United players that "controlled" the dressing room so Sir Alex Ferguson did not have to.
The former United and England captain has revealed how new signings were quickly stripped of any egos when welcomed to Old Trafford during Ferguson's time in charge.
"That would never be allowed to happen," he revealed in an interview with the Men In Blazers TV show to be broadcast on NBCSN on Monday afternoon.
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"The likes of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, myself - players who had Man United in them and wanted the best for that club - would never allow anyone to mess that up.
"We controlled the dressing room ourselves. Alex Ferguson didn't really need to control that. The players had the trust of the manager to do that themselves."
But Rooney has played down suggestions Jose Mourinho's current crop at United are failing to replicate the attacking style of Ferguson's sides.
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"People talk about our team - especially in relation to Manchester United now - and say it was attack, attack, attack. But we actually weren't," he said.
"A lot of games we played on the counter attack, drew teams into us and then broke with pace. We did it to Arsenal.
"It wasn't all 'let's just go out and attack' it was a bit more calculated against certain opponents which brought the best out of myself.
"We had the team built to hit teams on the break and we were devastating at it."
