Wayne Rooney is confident he can overhaul Sir Bobby Charlton’s Manchester United scoring record this season, writes Steve Bates in the Sunday People.
Despite a torrid few months, United and England captain Rooney has hit a streak of good form — his FA Cup fourth-round stunner at Derby on Friday night being his sixth goal in as many games.
That has taken his goals tally for the Reds to 243 — six behind Old Trafford legend Charlton.
World Cup winner Charlton scored 249 goals for the Red Devils, a record that has stood for 43 years. Rooney is closing fast and, despite a poor first half to the season, believes the record beckons with a minimum 18 games left before the end of the campaign.
“I’m well aware I’m getting closer to the record,” said the 30-year-old. “Like the England record, when it was getting closer, it was a subject that seemed to be coming up every week, so I’m sure it will be the same now at United.
“But it’s great to be mentioned alongside Sir Bobby’s record and hopefully before the end of the season I can pass that and kick on from there.”
Until the turn of the year, Charlton’s record seemed a no-go for new dad Rooney — whose wife Coleen gave birth to the couple’s third boy, Kit, last week.
Out of form, struggling for chances in manager Louis van Gaal’s rigid playing structure and suffering a seven match two-month Premier League run without a goal between late October and late December, Rooney was heavily criticised for scoring just seven goals in 23 United games in the first half of the season.
But since breaking his duck with an audacious flick to score the winner against Swansea at Old Trafford on January 2, he can’t stop scoring.
He followed up with the FA Cup third round winner against Sheffield United, bagged two at Newcastle in the 3-3 draw then scored a thunderous volleyed late winner as United beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield.
Rooney’s screamer at Championship side Derby was watched by board member Charlton, now 78, who sat alongside United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in the iPro Stadium directors’ box.
It set up a deserved 3-1 Cup win and confirmed he’s a man bang in form.
And with a Premier League game against Stoke at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Rooney’s aiming to hunt the record down as fast as he can.
“It’s been a good start to the new year both personally and scoring goals,” he said. “I’m feeling fit, and although the result against Southampton in our last League game was a bad one on a personal level I’m enjoying my game and scoring goals so hopefully that’ll continue.”
Despite Van Gaal’s insistence that he has not changed his philosophy, Rooney revealed the Dutchman has taken off the shackles.
That has allowed United’s stars to express themselves and play with more attacking intent – and Rooney revealed it’s brought a smile to the players' faces.
“Against Derby, it was obviously a better performance than last week’s game with Southampton but the manager gave us a lot of freedom to go and play and I think you can see the difference in the team” said the Reds' skipper.
“You can see we were enjoying it, scoring some good goals and thoroughly deserved to win so hopefully we can put in another performance like this again on Tuesday and take this form into the game against Stoke at Old Trafford.”
If Rooney can break Charlton’s long-standing scoring record before the end of the campaign in May, it will be the second time this season he has snatched a scoring milestone from the Busby Babes legend.
At Wembley last September, Rooney surpassed Charlton’s 49 goal all-time England scoring mark with a penalty against Switzerland to reach 50 goals since his first against Macedonia in 2003.
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