Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson concedes they didn't play Wayne Rooney to his strengths last season.

Rooney has scored 25 goals this season and is benefiting from playing in his favoured position of central striker. In previous years, the 24-year-old had been shifted about to accommodate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ferguson said: "We didn't use him properly last season. We were probably having to exploit his eagerness and enthusiasm to play anywhere.

"But we know his strengths, we know where he's best and that's where we're using him this season.

"I always told him that to be a world-class forward you need to have a really consistent goal performance. This season he is now on 25 and there are still 14 or 15 matches to go. So it does put him in the class of being not just a great player, but also a great goalscorer."