United shouldn’t have sacked LVG says Roo

WAYNE Rooney believes United made the wrong decision in sacking Louis van Gaal and appointing Jose Mourinho as his replacement in 2016, insisting the Dutchman was good for a third season in charge.

The Reds’ all-time leading scorer was captain under the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach and lifted the FA Cup in his final game in charge before Mourinho was appointed to replace him.

Van Gaal has since admitted in interviews Rooney was ‘over the hill’ when he coached him, but that the Merseysider was still United’s best player at the time.

And the pair clearly have a huge admiration for each other, with Rooney of the belief the former Netherlands boss deserved more time.

“I was devastated when Louis was sacked,” Rooney said in a new book about Van Gaal entitled ‘LVG - The Manager and the Total Person’.

“For me, it was an absolute joy to work with him. We should have kept him for a third season. We would have been so much stronger. I felt things were improving and players started to understand his vision. In those two years I learned more than under any other manager. This is why I will be forever grateful to him. Not just for making me captain, but also for all the trust and belief he had in me.”

League finishes of fourth and fifth under Van Gaal were a little underwhelming, although Rooney believes United were showing signs of improvement. He added: “Our best XI was good enough to play in the top four, but once we got injuries we got in trouble because we did not have the same quality in the squad as in the years before.”