Manchester United will challenge for title, says Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is as confident about Manchester United’s title prospects as the benched captain is about his ability to make a key contribution for years to come.

Three difficult seasons followed Alex Ferguson’s outstanding reign, with Jose Mourinho brought in to give United a shot in the arm after David Moyes and Louis van Gaal’s difficult tenures.

There have been flashes of brilliance and all-too-familiar disappointment under the Portuguese so far, with a poor run of three successive defeats followed by an unbeaten streak that extended to a fifth match in Monday’s tense derby at Liverpool.