I knew coming back to Everton was more pressure and that’s what I wanted...the perfect fit for me to prove myself again
WAYNE ROONEY says he is relishing the pressure of having to prove himself all over again at Everton.
The lifelong Blues fan had his pick of clubs after leaving Manchester United last summer.
He could have pocketed £32million a year in China or chosen a club in a less demanding environment.
But the former United and England captain said he needed the challenge of a return to his beloved Everton to maintain his hunger for the game.
Rooney, who accepted a pay-cut of around 50 per cent on his £300,000-a-week salary at United to return to Goodison Park, wanted the pressure of trying to win trophies for the Blues.
“I need those goals, I need that pressure,” said Rooney, who scored a record 253 goals for United over 13 glorious years at Old Trafford. “That desire to play would have been lost if I’d chosen a different option. I knew that coming back to Everton meant more pressure but that’s what I wanted. I wanted to prove myself again to the Everton fans and to try to help this club win silverware. Hopefully in the next two or three years we can do that.”
Rooney has managed to score 11 goals, including a hat-trick against West Ham earlier this season, to become Everton’s top marksman despite playing in a much deeper role.
Louis van Gaal first moved Rooney back into midfield two years ago at United and he says that is now his best position.
He is also using a few tips picked up from Ryan Giggs on prolonging his career – his former United team-mate played until he was 40.
“The one thing which has stayed constant is my attitude to playing, my attitude to winning,” he told the BBC’S Football Focus.
“But of course you change and adapt your game and that’s what I feel I’ve done over the last few years.
“Two years ago I thought my best position would be midfield, and that’s starting to happen now. I’ve learned that you can manage yourself in training, like Ryan did.
“He was there in every session but he managed it.
“You know when to run, when to make a 50-yard sprint and when not to. It’s just about having that awareness.”
Rooney, who became a dad for the fourth time last week when his fourth son Cass Mac was born, claims his eldest lad Kai (left) also makes sure his standards do not drop.
Rooney, who made 67 league appearances for Everton first time around before leaving to join United in 2004, joked that the eightyear-old, a fanatical Evertonian, is his biggest critic.
“If you don’t play well, he will remind you of it,” he said, “If I don’t have a good game, he’s the first to tell me and put me straight.
“He’s obsessed with football. He goes to play every night of the week after school.” Rooney, who turned 32 in October, has managed 31 appearances during Everton’s difficult campaign but says he will know when it is time to quit.
He knew it was right last summer to retire after 14 years with England, during which time he scored a record 53 goals for the Three Lions, and says he will stop when he feels he is no longer good enough for his boyhood club.
“I’m an honest player and if I feel I’m not good enough to play, I wouldn’t put myself in that position where I’m hanging on and thinking I need to keep going,” added Rooney. “If I am not good enough to be in the team then
I am honest enough to say that will be the time to finish playing.”