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Rooney: “Play me up-front”

Rooney-of-Manchester-United-celebrates-scoring-their-third-goal-during-the-Barclays-Premier-League-match-betweenWayne Rooney has said that he was happy with Louis Van Gaal’s decision to deploy in his natural role up-front after a spell in midfield adding he felt pleased with his current vein of form.

Earlier in the season, with Van Gaal trying to accommodate Robin Van Persie and Radamel Falcao in the side, Rooney found himself deployed as central midfielder, as United shifted between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 formations.

However, despite some excellent performances in the role – notably in the 3-0 win against Liverpool in December – Rooney’s form soon took a turn for the worse, with goals and assists drying up and calls for him to be reinstated up-front growing louder and louder.

With Falcao out of favour and Van Persie injured, Van Gaal has obliged and Rooney has netted four goals in five games since returning to his favourite position. While he admitted he was happy to make a tactical sacrifice for the team, Rooney insisted he’s now playing in his best position.

“When you play as a centre-forward you want to score goals, so I’m pleased I’m doing that,” said the United captain.

“I spoke with the manager and he thought it was better for the team for me to play in midfield. So that’s what I did. I played there.”

However, Rooney said that he was “delighted” to have been moved back up-front, where he felt he had a bigger impact on the team.

“I’m sure, in other games, he might put me back in midfield but I’m delighted to be playing up front and scoring. It’s helping us win football matches,” he added.

“Midfield is a role I know I can play, but as a centre-forward your job is to try to score goals. Thankfully, I’ve gone back up front and I’m doing that.”

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