Source: Team_Talk
Ferguson calm over Rooney red
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has refused to condemn Wayne Rooney for his red card in Montenegro last week.[LNB] Ferguson is expecting to see star striker on Wednesday for the first time since Rooney was sent off for lashing out while on England duty.[LNB]The incident has already led to a minimum one-match ban and a warning from Fabio Capello that the 25-year-old may not find it easy to win his place back at Euro 2012.[LNB]Ferguson has still to see the actual incident in Podgorica.[LNB]However, after witnessing huge improvement in the player's temperament over the past couple of years, a rebuke appears unlikely.[LNB]"I have texted him but he has not got back to me," Ferguson revealed in an interview on US-based digital radio station Sirius XM's 'The Football Show'.[LNB]"He will be disappointed. I haven't seen it at all but it sounds like it was one of these reflex actions by the boy. He has been tackled and he has reacted.[LNB]"He has this fiery temper which, to my mind, is not the worst thing in the world."[LNB]Ferguson was asked if he ever feared he would not be able to "harness his energies in a positive way".[LNB]"We do that," said the Scot. "He has shown tremendous improvement in his temperament and his reactions to tackles and things over the past few years.[LNB]"As maturity comes along it brings other things. It brings responsibility. He is improving all the time."[LNB]It has been suggested Rooney reacted due to the pressure he was under following his father's arrest on Friday, not that Ferguson was offering any opinion on that matter.[LNB]"I have no idea," he said.[LNB]"It is difficult to say with these things. I will see him tomorrow."[LNB]Certainly Rooney's place in Ferguson's starting line-up for Saturday's trip to Liverpool will not be governed by that incident alone.[LNB]Although the forward was left out of a trip to Everton last season due to Ferguson's concerns about the reception he would receive on Merseyside, it hardly seems plausible he would go into such a game without a player who has already scored nine goals this season.[LNB]Indeed, with Manchester City visiting Old Trafford on October 23, Ferguson accepts the next two games could be pivotal to United's hopes of retaining their Premier League title.[LNB]"These two games will be a great test for our young players," he said.[LNB]"They will be great emotional games but we will be ready for it.[LNB]"With all the big derbies it is intense because all these supporters work beside each other.[LNB]"They hope they can go to work on Monday morning and have the bragging rights until the next derby game comes along."
