Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will incur the wrath of manager Sir Alex Ferguson after his red card in yesterday's defeat to Fulham, it has been revealed. The Mail on Sunday Ferguson, enraged by Liverpool's 4-1 win at Old Trafford last weekend, reacted by dropping Rooney along with Michael Carrick, Carlos Tevez and Anderson.

According to informed sources, the manager had been particularly angered by the performance of Rooney and he has reportedly turned the air blue at United's Carrington training ground over recent days.

Ferguson confessed to berating his players at the interval yesterday - unpacking his famous 'hairdryer' to make the point that he demanded more urgency from a team who had been labouring.

"There was some talking done at half-time," he said, cryptically.