Sir Alex Ferguson expected Rooney to struggle at Euro 2012
The Manchester United manager was not surprised by his star strikers flat performance in Poland and Ukraine believing his suspension for the first two games had a big impact.
By Tom Rhodes
19 Jul 2012 22:45:00
UEFA EURO 2012 : Wayne Rooney, England v Italy
Rooney scored the winner against Ukraine in Kiev, but struggled to make an impact in the Three Lions' quarter final match against Italy, looking off the pace.
The 26-year-old striker missed the first two games of the tournament through suspension as a result of his sending off in the final qualifying game against Montenegro.
And his club manager believes the significant gap between his final competitive game of the season for United and his first game at the European Championships had a detrimental impact on his performance.
"I always thought it was difficult," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "We know him better than anybody and he needs a lot of football.
"Wayne's a stocky lad. If he misses a couple of games, it takes him three or four to come back.
"He didn't look as sharp as normal [against Italy]. It is very hard to play two big games in four days."
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UNITED MISS OUT ON TOP FOUR |
| 7/1 | Man Utd are 7/1 with Paddy Power to miss out on the top four in next season's Premier League |