Queiroz: give Roo a chance

MANCHESTER UNITED assistant manager Carlos Queiroz has warned an expectant public not to demand miracles from Wayne Rooney.

Since returning from suspensions which effectively ruled him out of six games for club and country this season, Rooney has been below par by his own high standards. So ineffective was the 20-year-old in last weekend’s home defeat to Arsenal that he was hauled off before the end by Alex Ferguson.

At the time, Rooney did not seem impressed, although he has since admitted his present form is some way below his own expectations.

Although the former Everton star’s place is not under immediate threat, an improvement is required during another testing week, which starts with tomorrow’s trip to Reading.

However, Queiroz does not believe there is any need for criticism. Pointing to the last five months, in which Rooney has played just nine games with a full 90 minutes completed only twice, the former Real Madrid coach cannot see how anything more could be expected from the forward.

“I am not concerned about Wayne,” he said.

“You cannot expect miracles. If you go back to the game against Chelsea in April when he broke his foot, he has hardly played a match. When you don’t play so often, it is natural to expect his present form. All he needs is games to get back to his maximum.”

Although Rooney did not repeat Micah Richards’ recent shirt-throwing antics when he was hauled off by Manchester City coach Stuart Pearce, he did take his time walking off the field last week, before slumping in the home dugout barely exchanging a word with anyone.

It appears that is not an issue for Queiroz either, just the usual fall-out from a deeply committed individual who had not been able to make the impact he would have liked.

“Wayne plays with a lot of aggression and great desire,” he said. “He has a winning mentality and when he goes out onto the pitch, the only thing he wants to do is perform and win. If that doesn’t happen, he feels it like any other player, in his case probably more.”

Mikael Silvestre will miss United’s first trip to the Madejski Stadium as he nurses a twisted ankle.

Patrice Evra would be an automatic replacement for his fellow Frenchman, although Gabriel Heinze has a chance of starting his first competitive game for the Red Devils in a year after returning to full training.

Heinze has completed the rehabilitation work required to build up strength in his leg muscles, which took such a pounding in the World Cup and, with Alan Smith and Nemanja Vidic also available and Edwin van der Sar expected to be recalled after recovering from a stomach bug, Ferguson’s squad will be lacking only Silvestre, Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung.

The Scot’s most interesting selection poser surrounds £18.6m new boy Michael Carrick, who was dumped to the bench for Arsenal’s visit, heightening fears that he is not defensively-minded enough to operate in central midfield alongside Paul Scholes.

Queiroz rejects the theory.

“I can’t see any reason why Paul and Michael cannot play together,” said Queiroz. “They are two great players. We defend as a team. It is not just down to two individuals.