Wayne Rooney relieved after blasting back for Manchester United as striker eyes more goals

Rooney, making his first start since signing a new £200,000-a-week contract after threatening to quit Old Trafford, scored the only goal of the game at Ibrox in the 87th minute after Fabio was fouled by Steven Naismith.

The 25-year-old only returned to the side as a substitute against Wigan at the weekend having been sidelined with an ankle injury since the middle of October.

Rooney struggled at times against the Scottish champions but he never considered letting any of his team-mates near the spot-kick.

He said: 'There were not many nerves really. I knew what I was doing and where I was going. I can only do that.

'If the keeper guesses the right way and saves it, so be it. Thankfully it went in. Obviously it is a bit of a relief for me to score. Hopefully I can build on this now.'

Rooney's only other goal this season came from the penalty spot too, against West Ham in August, and he was quick to race away to the United section of a packed Ibrox, another step forward in rebuilding his relationship with the club's fans.

'I wanted to celebrate with our fans,' he said. 'It is always nice to beat Rangers away. Hopefully I can go on a goalscoring run now but really I am just delighted to be back playing again.

'I felt good. I felt fit throughout the game. I want to build on this performance and this goal.'

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was pleased with Rooney's contribution but insists his striker is still not back to his best.

'He needs games,' said Ferguson. 'The way we are going to do that is to keep him on the pitch for 90 minutes.

'That will continue now as we try to get him to his level. He is rusty, that is obvious, but it is a start for him.'


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