the best position for Rooney

The location of Rooney's best position is still open to debate, not least because he has rarely occupied the same role for Manchester United for a sustained period. Last season, in order to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo as a centre-forward, Rooney even found himself being asked to operate as a backtracking left winger.

"We need to define his role better," conceded Ferguson said. "And I think I have to take a bit of responsibility for that.

"I think he sacrificed himself for the team, which says a lot about the lad because he never complained. We've played him wide and in other positions. He will score goals...but we kept using him in different positions. In the European Cup final, when Chelsea got control in the second half, we had to stem that and play three midfielders, and once we did that we controlled the game again.

"He will score goals. He scored a couple against Aston Villa after not scoring for seven or eight games and I thought that would have catapulted him into a good run, but we kept using him in different positions - he would play centre-half if you asked him to. I think his best position is through the middle, either a front role or tucking in just behind. He is aggressive, has got two good feet, good pace, has the courage to go into the box. There's no reason he can't get a good supply of goals."

Ferguson's remarks could be interpreted as a calculated ploy to mollify Rooney whose volatile temperament has come under scrutiny again during United's pre-season tour of South Africa. The England forward has also had to face fresh criticism over his lifestyle after he was outed by newspapers as a smoker.

To date, Rooney has never scored more than 16 league goals in a season, a modest tally that Ferguson believes will be bettered once he enjoys the company of an experienced centre-forward alongside him.

"He may have benefited by having someone with more experience alongside him," said Ferguson. "That always happens with young strikers. At 22, he was never going to be the finished article. We signed him for his potential, which is why we paid £26 million for him. In a few years' time, we will be saying that is really brilliant business."