Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has heaped praise on captain Wayne Rooney after he held a team meeting earlier in the week to spur his team-mates on.
United’s week started with a crash after they lost to Arsenal in the FA Cup at Old Trafford but they returned on Sunday afternoon to beat Tottenham Hotspur, convincingly.
And, it has since been revealed that Rooney, who scored a sublime goal in the 3-0 win, took matters into his own hands in midweek, after gathering team-mates to rally them on for what now looks like; a Champions League qualification pursuit.
Van Gaal told reporters of the meeting: “I was aware but I was not involved. It was the captain who was involved.
“The players knew that this game was massively important and so I think the captain has to do something to help the players or the manager or the club. I was very pleased.”
Rooney was key to the win on Sunday and Van Gaal has stressed the importance of the victory over Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
“We have waited a long time for such a victory,” he declared. “The performance was very good against a very good team. I’m very pleased. I have to watch the video again but we played like a team and were very determined, which is nice after a defeat. It was a massively important game and I’m very pleased with the players.
“Tottenham is a team that wants to play football so you have time and space to play your own game. It’s a matter of the process we are in. I have played this system [4-3-3] against Manchester City and Chelsea and, in those games, we didn’t do what we have done today.
“Maybe now it’s a game that gives us a fantastic boost.”