Man Utd boss Ferguson admits rapping Rooney for spotkick miss

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he rapped Wayne Rooney over the knuckles after victory against Liverpool.

Rooney saw his first-half penalty saved by Reds No1 Pepe Reina before managing to turn in the rebound.

Ferguson hailed the form of red-hot Rooney but said he made an error when he had his penalty saved before following it in. He said: "Wayne said to me he changed his mind. So I said, 'Never change your mind'.

"He went the other way but he got the rebound."

It was Rooney's 33rd goal of an incredible season for the United and England star.

Fergie said: "He has always been a good player but lately he has taken a massive leap forward in his development.

"Moving him further forward to threaten more in the box has undoubtedly helped his goalscoring but it also has to be said that Wayne has practised more after normal training and it has greatly improved his movement.

"We encourage all the players to practise after a training session and they are responding and looking upon it as a normal thing to do.

"Sometimes you get rewards when you do that and I think that's what we are seeing now with Wayne."