Rooney will bounce back against Liverpool, says Ferguson
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-09-16 21:52

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney will respond positively to recent criticism of his temperament when his side travel to Liverpool for a Premier League match on Sunday.

Ferguson says he was not surprised by the media reaction to Rooney's sending off midweek for sarcastically applauding referee Kim Milton Nielsen in United's 0-0 draw in their Champions League game at Villarreal.

The 19-year-old striker was also criticised for a petulant performance in England's World Cup qualifier defeat by Northern Ireland a week earlier, when he was booked for elbowing an opponent and also had a verbal spat with captain David Beckham.

"I think he's such a high profile player that we are not surprised, not at all," Ferguson told reporters on Friday.

"That's the way of the world. They did it with (England striker Paul) Gascoigne, they did it with (David) Beckham, they did it with (George) Best. It's just the nature of the press.

"We will handle the experience as with our experience we can.

"He will put in a performance on Sunday because he's been doing that all the time for us. He performs fantastically for us and of course a derby game with Liverpool is always one of the highlights of the year."

Ferguson was relishing the meeting between the arch-rivals, with United hoping for a fourth successive win at the home of the European champions.

"The Manchester United-Liverpool game is such a great platform for players to perform. The atmosphere at Anfield is always going to be electric, just as it as Old Trafford.

"It does put players on a real edge for the game. It's the kind of atmosphere good players respond to and over the last few years we have done okay."

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