Finish above Chelsea and we win the title, says striker
By Adithya Ananth
Dec 19, 2010 2:00:00 PM
photo of wayne rooney
The Gunners' side of 2003-04 season won the Premier League without losing a single game, as their final record read 26 wins and 12 draws from the normal 38 games.
And should United match that feat, it will only be the third time in the history of English top-flight football that such an occurrence would have come to pass, as only Preston North End preceded the north London club by remaining unbeaten - in the Football League's inaugural 22-match season of 1888-89.
Rooney believes that the odds are against United matching the aforementioned 'Invincibles' teams, but remains confident that another United Premier League title triumph could be on the cards.
This, he believes, can be achieved simply by finishing above Chelsea.
"It will be difficult to emulate Arsenal," Rooney told The News of the World.
"If we did it would be a great achievement, but I think it's unlikely.
And should United match that feat, it will only be the third time in the history of English top-flight football that such an occurrence would have come to pass, as only Preston North End preceded the north London club by remaining unbeaten - in the Football League's inaugural 22-match season of 1888-89.
Rooney believes that the odds are against United matching the aforementioned 'Invincibles' teams, but remains confident that another United Premier League title triumph could be on the cards.
This, he believes, can be achieved simply by finishing above Chelsea.
"It will be difficult to emulate Arsenal," Rooney told The News of the World.
"If we did it would be a great achievement, but I think it's unlikely.
"However, I think if we finish above Chelsea at the end of the season we will win the league."
On a personal note, Rooney insisted that he is as fit as a fiddle and is raring to kick in to top form.
The forward had a tumultuous period both on and off the pitch, as poor form and controversial circumstances in his personal life took a toll on him. But an ankle injury saw him being given time off to go on a vacation, and he was packed away to the United States for intensive training after his time off.
"I feel good and, of course, I am happy to be back.
"I have played in the last four games and the whole team has been playing well. We are in a good position, we've managed to get to the top of the league so it's looking good at the minute.
"I did a lot of training when I was in the States and now I feel good towards the end of games. I'm still going to get stronger.
"I trained in the States from 9am to 7pm and sometimes after training I'd play squash.
"I did some marathon running, tennis and basketball, all different things at the end of the session and that has obviously helped."
Concerning the desire to win the league, he added: "I want to keep playing, help the team win and, obviously, the main goal [is] to try and win the Premier League back.
"It hurt us a lot last year not winning it and we're hoping we can do that this year."
When it comes to winning the title, the Red Devils would have ideally liked to have had all their top performers available in the push to win the league. But midfielder Park Ji-Sung - who scored the only goal in the victory over Arsenal - will miss a few games owing to the Asian Cup.
Rooney - who missed a spot-kick in the same encounter - maintained that the goal scored by the South Korea international against the Gunners was no fluke, as he said: "He nicks some vital goals for us.
"And he definitely meant his one against Arsenal. You could see the body shape and the way he moved his head.
"It's just a shame he's away for five weeks with South Korea in the Asian Cup. But it was a great result for us, massive. We knew if we won we would go back to the top of the league.
"We limited Arsenal's chances and defended really well. Once we went 1-0 up we were quite comfortable.
"Now we need to be consistent. We haven't lost in the League this season but we've had too many draws so far. However, all the top teams are dropping points so we must now take advantage of that."
Rooney recently signed a long-term contract with the club, but only after having publicly declared his desire to leave Old Trafford.
But prior to his turnaround, the 25-year-old went through a miserable patch of form that saw him put in underwhelming performances for England in the World Cup before carrying forward similar form into this season.
However, he has thanked the supporters who have stood by him, saying: "It's been a hard few months for me and the United fans with what happened, but they have been brilliant.
"I signed a new deal and they can see the desire I have to play and to win and they have been absolutely fantastic to me so I thank them for that."
On a personal note, Rooney insisted that he is as fit as a fiddle and is raring to kick in to top form.
The forward had a tumultuous period both on and off the pitch, as poor form and controversial circumstances in his personal life took a toll on him. But an ankle injury saw him being given time off to go on a vacation, and he was packed away to the United States for intensive training after his time off.
"I feel good and, of course, I am happy to be back.
"I have played in the last four games and the whole team has been playing well. We are in a good position, we've managed to get to the top of the league so it's looking good at the minute.
"I did a lot of training when I was in the States and now I feel good towards the end of games. I'm still going to get stronger.
"I trained in the States from 9am to 7pm and sometimes after training I'd play squash.
"I did some marathon running, tennis and basketball, all different things at the end of the session and that has obviously helped."
Concerning the desire to win the league, he added: "I want to keep playing, help the team win and, obviously, the main goal [is] to try and win the Premier League back.
"It hurt us a lot last year not winning it and we're hoping we can do that this year."
When it comes to winning the title, the Red Devils would have ideally liked to have had all their top performers available in the push to win the league. But midfielder Park Ji-Sung - who scored the only goal in the victory over Arsenal - will miss a few games owing to the Asian Cup.
Rooney - who missed a spot-kick in the same encounter - maintained that the goal scored by the South Korea international against the Gunners was no fluke, as he said: "He nicks some vital goals for us.
"And he definitely meant his one against Arsenal. You could see the body shape and the way he moved his head.
"It's just a shame he's away for five weeks with South Korea in the Asian Cup. But it was a great result for us, massive. We knew if we won we would go back to the top of the league.
"We limited Arsenal's chances and defended really well. Once we went 1-0 up we were quite comfortable.
"Now we need to be consistent. We haven't lost in the League this season but we've had too many draws so far. However, all the top teams are dropping points so we must now take advantage of that."
Rooney recently signed a long-term contract with the club, but only after having publicly declared his desire to leave Old Trafford.
But prior to his turnaround, the 25-year-old went through a miserable patch of form that saw him put in underwhelming performances for England in the World Cup before carrying forward similar form into this season.
However, he has thanked the supporters who have stood by him, saying: "It's been a hard few months for me and the United fans with what happened, but they have been brilliant.
"I signed a new deal and they can see the desire I have to play and to win and they have been absolutely fantastic to me so I thank them for that."
Mr. Wayne Rooney
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