Man United captain Wayne Rooney vows to fight on at Old Trafford after being benched - 7M sport

Man United captain Wayne Rooney vows to fight on at Old Trafford after being benched



Posted Monday, September 26, 2016 by Express.co.uk

Man United captain Wayne Rooney vows to fight on at Old Trafford after being benched
Wayne Rooney still believes he can be a big contributor at Old Trafford

WAYNE ROONEY will not quit Manchester United despite being dropped by Jose Mourinho.

Sources close to Rooney say that with two years left on his current contract – with an option for a third – he has no intention of bailing out to the USA's Major Soccer League or anywhere else.

United responded to Mourinho's decision to leave Rooney on the bench on Saturday with their best performance of the season in the 4-1 win over champions Leicester.

And it was seen by many as signalling the beginning of the end of Rooney's 12-year career at Old Trafford.

But the Untied captain, it is understood, accepts that with his 31st birthday approaching next month and with 720 games for club and country on the clock, he is no longer an automatic choice at Old Trafford and will be rotated as Mourinho's selects "horses for courses".

There is no disconnect between him and Mourinho in the way there was with Sir Alex Ferguson, who dropped him several times towards the end of his reign as manager in 2013, prompting the player to push for a move.

Rooney still feels he has a big contribution to make – a view shared by Mourinho – and wants to stay at Old Trafford until, at least, the summer of 2018 when he has already announced he will call time on his international career following the World Cup in Russia, should England qualify. He has a mutually agreeable clause to extend his current deal until 2019.

Rooney will be recalled for the Europa League game against Ukraine club Zorya Luhansk on Thursday when he will hope to close in on Sir Bobby Charlton's 249-goal club scoring record – he is three shy of equalling it.

Chris Smalling, who took over the armband on Saturday, revealed Rooney was as vocal, upbeat and enthusiastic in the dressing room before and after the win over Leicester as he would have been had he been starting.

"He's often the most vocal and he was the same today," said Smalling. "Whatever the situation is, whatever game, whether he is on the bench or playing or whatever, he is always the same. He's that type of character and that's something that will never change.

"That's why he is England's main man and our main man. There's no doubt that he's got still got a lot to offer."

After Saturday's game, Rooney was all smiles as he had a kick-around with his two sons on the Old Trafford pitch.

Mourinho insists that Rooney still figures in his plans, had accepted his decision with good grace and will remain a hugely influential figure in the dressing room, on the training ground and on the pitch.

"He is a big player for me, a big player for United and a big player for this country," he said. "He is as happy as I am in this moment and that's because we're together as a team. His team won, his United won, that's normal.

"My captain is my captain. If he has to go to the bench, he goes to the bench. If he has to stay at home, he stays at home. He is my man. I trust him completely.

"But we thought against a team like Leicester, the way they defend, we thought the best solution for us was to play with the two fast kids, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, and Juan Mata in a position where he can interact with these fast kids."



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