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United cool reports of Rooney rift

Wayne Rooney didn't train well last week, according to Sir Alex Ferguson © Getty Images

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Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is eager to smooth over any rift with Wayne Rooney after the star striker was dropped due to disciplinary issues for the defeat against Blackburn Rovers.

Rooney was not even selected as a substitute for Saturday's shock 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford, despite Ferguson being forced to name five untested youngsters on the bench.

United remained silent when reports started to circulate on Sunday that Rooney had been punished for a boozy night out on Boxing Day, with Ferguson claiming: "Wayne hasn't trained well this week".

But it now appears that Ferguson was unhappy with Rooney and United team-mate Darron Gibson after they reportedly spent the night on the town and were unfit to train the following day. It is believed Ferguson fined the pair and forced them to train on their day off last week as punishment.

An Old Trafford source told the Sun: "The issue has been dealt with and the players involved have been disciplined. That's the end of it. There's no rift between Wayne and the manager. The matter is closed and Wayne will be available for selection against Newcastle."

Those views were echoed by the Rooney camp. "There is no long-term problem between Wayne and the manager," the source added. "Wayne wants to get on with his season now and doesn't want to make a big deal of this."

Ferguson is keen to move on from the issue, realising United need to regain their focus after being granted a Premier League reprieve thanks to Sunderland's late win over leaders Manchester City, who remain ahead only on goal difference.

It at least provided an upbeat ending to an eventful 70th birthday weekend for Ferguson - who, prior to the Blackburn game, confirmed his intention to remain at Old Trafford for another three years.

He will need Rooney, and to a lesser extent Gibson, on Tyneside against Newcastle as his team look to bounce back from a rudderless performance at the weekend that was condemned by 19-year-old Phil Jones.

"Too slow, too laboured," he said. "Our downfall was coming back too soon. We thought we had won it and we eased off. They punished us. On the manager's birthday as well." The chances are Ferguson was not as measured in the dressing room afterwards.

Griping at referee Mike Dean over the penalty that allowed Ayegbeni Yakubu to put Blackburn ahead, Ferguson then branded the Nigerian's second and Grant Hanley's winner as "bad goals".

He pointedly avoided any criticism of David de Gea directly but after putting together a string of decent performances, the young keeper's failure to cope with the high ball was a throwback to his shaky early displays.

On Friday, Ferguson said De Gea would be in goal for the matches against Blackburn and Newcastle. But Anders Lindegaard has conceded just once in seven outings and Ferguson must be tempted to make an immediate change.

"That third goal was a killer," admitted the United boss. "But we need to recover now. We are coming to a crucial part of the season and we want to make sure we come back from Newcastle with a proper result."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.