London, July 20 (Inditop.com) England striker Wayne Rooney has vowed to fill the gaps at Manchester United left by the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.
The 23-year-old Rooney is now looking to play the role of the central striker and forging a deadly combination with Manchester United’s new signings Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov.
“With Cristiano going, it leaves a huge hole when it comes to goals and that is why it’s important myself, Berba and Michael chip in a bit. We all need to score more goals, especially me and Berba, than we did last year,” Rooney was quoted as saying by The Sun.
He was also happy with the arrival of his England team mate Owen and is backing the former Newcastle United striker to prove his doubters wrong.
“I’ve played with Michael for England many times. He has looked sharp in training and is working hard. I think the move will give him a new lease of life,” Rooney added.
Ronaldo’s departure will see Rooney getting back his favourite role as an orthodox striker, rather than out wide. Rooney has struggled to suppress his dislike at being shunted out wide by United manager Alex Ferguson, but he has always remained committed to play wherever selected.
Ronaldo was United’s lone striker last season in big games and with Tevez hit 101 goals between them during the past two seasons.
Rooney fired 20 goals last term and Berbatov 14. Owen netted just 10 at Newcastle and his debut strike in a 3-2 win against Malaysia XI, Saturday, was his first since Jan 10.
rounak