Wayne Rooney: United players ‘have to take responsibility’

Striker Wayne Rooney felt Manchester United provided the perfect response to what he described as a tough week by beating Norwich 4-0 at Old Trafford.

Ryan Giggs assumed temporary control of United on Tuesday following the sacking of David Moyes, and gave the club's board food for thought as he enjoyed a dream debut in the home dugout.

Rooney and Juan Mata each scored twice as the Welshman oversaw a comfortable victory, and the England international is now hoping they can end the season on a high note.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game, Norwich are fighting for survival,” Rooney told Sky Sports 1. “But thankfully we got four goals and a comfortable win.

“We’re the ones on the pitch, we have to take a lot of responsibility (for Moyes leaving).

“We’ve had a tough week and there’s been a lot of negativity towards us as a team. We were hurt by that and we wanted to put that right. It’s important for us to end the season well.”

Rooney was also full of praise for Giggs’s impact on the team since taking charge, although stopped short of saying he should be the next United boss.

“Giggsy has come in, he’s a really experienced player and he’s built to be a manager,” he said. “We can see that as players, we can see how he’s handled himself since he took over. Giggsy has got all the credentials to be the next boss but that decision is down to the board.”

Mata started the match on the bench but was delighted to be given his chance to make his mark in a much-improved second-half display.

“We scored four times and we didn’t concede a goal,” he said. “The first half was difficult but in the second half we showed what Manchester United can do at home.

“We always try our best. Sometimes it’s difficult to win, it’s difficult to play. We didn’t find enough space to create opportunities in the first half, but we’re all together and our aim is to win the three games we have left.”