Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JOSE WILL MAKE UNITED GREAT AGAIN
Rooney tips Mourinho to put Reds back on top (but knows he won’t be there to enjoy it)
WAYNE ROONEY collected his 16th winner’s medal as a Manchester United player and claimed Jose Mourinho can put the club back on their perch. United have been in decline since Sir Alex Ferguson retired four years ago, but Rooney believes Mourinho can restore their No.1 position after leading United to an EFL Cup and Europa League double in his first season. Rooney, 31, is unlikely to be at Old Trafford to see what happens but knows they will not truly be back until they are winning the Premier League and Champions League again – and says Mourinho is the man to do that. After lifting the Europa League trophy the United captain said: “This is a platform for more. We needed to win trophies and, if you’d said we’d win four trophies in two seasons, you would have thought, ‘Where are they going to come from?’ “But we’ve done that and I feel we’re progressing as a team and a club. I’m sure there will be many more to come. “This club needs to be winning Premier Leagues and Champions Leagues – that’s where it belongs, where it needs to be. And I’m certain they’ve got the right man to lead them to that.” Rooney says progress under Mourinho is clear and, in addition to the silverware, he has made them resilient. United went 25 Premier League games unbeaten this season and only lost five times. “He knows how to win trophies,” said the striker. “Having this season with him, I’ve seen how he works. He makes us so hard to beat, and hopes we’ll get a goal or two to win.” Rooney was delighted United have qualified for the Champions League after two failures in the last three seasons and felt their route back into was more glorious than Tottenham’s. “Yeah, of course,” he said. “Look at Tottenham, they have had a fantastic season, finished second, with no trophies to show for it. “We’re in the Champions League, but with two trophies. “We know how important it is for this club to be in the Champions League, so it’s a big win. It’s a trophy, but also a Champions League spot. It’s great to win trophies. It’s what you play football for.” Rooney was particularly pleased to win after the horror of the terror attack at the Manchester Arena on Monday. He knows United lifting the Europa League will not erase the pain felt by the victims and their families, but hopes it will help. “Yeah, it was very important to win,” he added. “I have to pass on my condolences to the families of the victims. “It was so sad, and we all felt it as a team, as a city, and as a country. “Obviously, football doesn’t bring back the lives that are lost but to give some happiness to the city was vital for us.”