Fergie delight at Rooney revival

Wayne Rooney’s return to form in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Aston Villa delighted Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

After a lean spell for the usually prolific striker, who had scored just three times this season, Rooney responded in the best possible way with his two goals and a third from Nemanja Vidic powering United to a convincing win over Gerard Houllier’s side.

Ferguson said he was pleased with the way the 25-year-old had hit back, labelling his haul just reward for hard work.

“The man’s got a great appetite to play and everyone should remember that,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.

“We remember that – he has a great appetite to work and fight and he gets his rewards eventually.”

Ferguson said he was taking a ‘one game at a time’ approach as he looks to secure his 12th title with the Red Devils, who are five points clear on top of the English Premier League.

“You keep knocking off the games and if we can keep winning then eventually you run out of games,” he said.

“The aim for us is to keep the momentum going and keep the work-rate up like we did tonight against a good Aston Villa team and hopefully it gets us where we want to be.”

Houllier was lavish in his praise for United, insisting his men had been outplayed by a better side, but was determined to take some positives from the encounter at Old Trafford.

“We were beaten by a team that was superior to ours,” the Frenchman said.

“We didn’t play badly and we managed to come back at 2-1 but they played brilliantly.”

“We passed the ball well and were silkier and more accurate but we lacked the finishing. We weren’t clinical and we didn’t hurt them enough.”

“The positive is that we drew 1-1 in the second-half against a team that’s contending for the title.”

“I think we need to take positives from this game because we tried to have a go and I’m proud of the performance so they must take that on board and keep going.”