…but Rooney would, “The way Newcastle played in the first hour was brilliant, they put us under a lot of pressure and I thought they deserved to be ahead probably. Then we got the goal, sat back a bit and managed to get the second goal.”
Another game against Newcastle and another goal, one of his lucky teams? "I don't know really. They're obviously just one of those teams I enjoy playing against." And his goal, “I saw the ball in the air and knew it was going to be a difficult bounce so I just gambled and luckily it paid off."
Fergie’s reaction, " It was an important result because Newcastle were a very determined team - very, very difficult to break down. We stepped up our passing in the second half and played with increased pace, which we needed to do because we were far too slow in the first half.
“Newcastle had a lot of pressure in the first half and one or two dangerous moments in our penalty box but we created chances - although it's about taking them. But once we got in front I was quite confident.
“Our second goal was a great example for any person who wants to get to the very top. Wayne has a fantastic work ethic. Today wasn't a great performance but we were determined in the defensive part of our game, our goalkeeper was excellent and we had a solid look about us. The two young boys (Rooney and Ronaldo) are fantastic, just incredible. It's great to see them enjoy themselves in training and in the dressing room.
"We've got the look about us that we've had in the past when we've been going to win things. We were determined and defensively we were very solid. That gives you the platform to go on and win matches, which is what we're doing.
“Wayne took his chance but the way he supplied the second was a great example to all young players. He defended in the right-back position and ran 50 yards to supply the ball for Ruud. It was a great example of his work ethic.”
Newcastle’s assistant Alan Murray deputised for Souness, "They are poor goals from our point of view. Jean-Alain has been good enough to hold his hand up, and that is a credit to him, but what we have said is we will win as a team and we will take our defeats as a team.
"We will regroup and we will go on from there. If we had had a really bad performance and we had been tonked, yes, we would be a bit despondent. Manchester United are a really good team, you saw that today, but we matched them when we had our best 11 out there, and we need to do that more often, keep our best 11 on the pitch.”