Rooney will forget World Cup misery

The old Wayne Rooney will be back on August 16 when Manchester United kick-off their Premier League campaign against Newcastle.

The game, which will be aired live on Sky Sports, will give Rooney the chance to blow the cobwebs off and show the world he has forgotten his disastrous World Cup campaign.

Things just didn’t happen for Rooney and England in South Africa. Blame it on the ankle injury he picked towards the end of the season, fatigue, or just the weight of expectation, but Rooney wasn’t at the races at the finals.

The former Everton striker has yet to score at a World Cup finals and the closest he came was hitting the post in the 1-0 win over Slovenia – England’s only win in the 2010 competition.

Commenting on Rooney’s below par performance, Sir Alex Ferguson said: “I think there was such expectation on him. There was talk he was going to be the player of the tournament.

“Don’t forget, that was the prelude to the whole thing – he was going to be the star, he was going to outshine them all – (Lionel) Messi, (Cristiano) Ronaldo. So that level of expectation comes into it.”

Ferguson undoubtedly blames Rooney’s poor form on having the weight of a nation on his shoulders, but a comforting word or two from the United boss should do the trick.

Suggestions that Rooney’s confidence has been knocked will prove unfounded, Ferguson will make sure the striker is in the right frame of mind when the season kicks off next month and another season filled with goals is likely.