Wayne Rooney on Success in Soccer

Wayne Rooney is relishing playing the lead role in United's attack - and he's being backed by Reds fans to crack the 30-goal barrier for the first time in his career.

The in-form 24-year-old front man is the Premier League's clear leading scorer with 20 goals, and another strike against Arsenal on Sunday took his tally in all competitions to 22.

Rooney has been solely focused on playing through the middle this season, where Sir Alex feels he is at his most potent. Whereas in the past, Rooney has been selfless and played wide left, he's now in his preferred role.

"My favourite position is playing forward," he says. "I’ve been used out wide or in midfield now and again in the past, but as a forward I feel I can influence the game a lot more. Thankfully the manager has played me there all season."

There are 14 league games remaining this season, with the potential for a further eight matches in the Carling Cup and Champions League, leaving plenty of opportunity for Rooney to break the 30-goal barrier.

United fans certainly have faith in him achieving it. In a ManUtd.com poll, 76% of our readers reckon Rooney will pass that total, with a third of those fans confident
he'll get more than 35 goals.

Rooney has revealed the secret behind his tally increase this term - and it's down to developing his predatory instincts in the box, and not shying away from the hard work of practice.

"I've started scoring more goals inside the six-yard box, which I've not really done a lot in previous years," he says. "I’ve been working on trying to improve my movement in the box and creating space to get my shot off. It's all starting to pay off.

"We do shooting practice with the team, but then after the session I’ll go and work on things myself.

"Sometimes people don’t realise how hard it is to practice every day. It’s hard to constantly put the work in to improve your game. But if you want to get the rewards from it, you have to do it. The best players always practice to get better. That’s what I’ve done since as far back as I can remember. I've played football every day for most of my life. It’s something I really enjoy doing."