Even though the club have been exceptionally quiet in the transfer market this summer, striker Wayne Rooney says that Manchester United are more than ready for the new campaign. Speaking after the club’s final fixture of their pre-season programme, Rooney claims that the squad are now fit and fresh enough to try and win their title back from rivals City.
Rooney was speaking after the club finished their unbeaten pre-season programme with a narrow 4-3 victory over German outfit Hannover. The England international said, “It’s been a bit stop-start with the international players coming back a bit later but we’ve had to make sure we look after ourselves during the summer. I think tonight you can see that the players are looking better every game – fresher and fitter – and hopefully come next Monday against Everton we’ll be ready because it’ll be a difficult game.”
The victory over Hannover will have certainly been a welcome relief for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, with the club somewhat struggling for goals through the other summer games. Prior to the win, they had scored just three times in five fixtures, prompting worries that United could have some attacking concerns in the forthcoming campaign. However, following goals for Shinji Kagawa, Javier Hernandez and Rooney himself, supporters are likely to approach the campaign feeling much better about their chances.
Meanwhile, while Rooney may be confident that the team is ready, whether the manager feels the same is a completely different matter. It’s widely understood that Fergie is desperate to strengthen his squad and the fact that he did not attend this friendly has prompted suggestions that he was away on transfer business. Once again, reports are linking him with a move for Robin Van Persie, although there are still doubts over such a move materializing.