Fergie wants Roo in the middle

Sir Alex Ferguson has declared that Wayne Rooney is at his best when play in the centre-forward spot, rather than when he is roaming around.

Rooney has scored four Premier League goals for Manchester United in the current campaign, placing him on par with international team-mate Jermain Defoe. He has scored against Birmingham, Arsenal and had a brace at Wigan.

The Red Devils want Rooney to play a more traditional centre-forward role than in previous years, with Ferguson believing that Rooney will fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, in terms of scoring at least.

Rooney has welcomed the opportunity, but Ferguson understands the 23-year-old is prone to roaming.

Ferguson told Inside United magazine: "The boy's got a real hunger and drive about him. He has so much energy that sometimes he overdoes it in the sense that he wants to use it all; he'll drop into midfield or he'll go outside left."

"But he's young, and young players tend to sometimes be that way - they want to spend all their energy on the pitch."

"But if he concentrates like he did at Wigan and spends more time in the central areas rather than the wide positions then he will get goals. There's no doubt about that."

Rooney has been a regular scorer since joining United in 2004, however Ferguson suspects Sir Bobby Charlton's club goals record of 249 will be difficult to beat.

"It'll be very tough," Ferguson said. "Sir Bobby's record is 249 goals, so at this stage of Wayne's career I'd say he'll have to do very well to get anywhere near that."