Sir Alex Ferguson insisted there were no lingering issues about Wayne Rooney's popularity with Manchester United's supporters after the striker marked his first start for two months with the goal that sent his club into the Champions League knockout stages.
Rooney's 87th-minute penalty was the decisive moment of a 1-0 win that relegates Rangers into the Europa League and Ferguson believes the forward can now move on from the various controversies that led to a minority of fans booing him when he came on a substitute against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
"There are no issues with that [the fans] at all," the United manager said. "Every time he scores he weds himself to the fans and the players and it's taken a lot of courage to take that penalty kick. I don't think he's ever been short of that – and it was a fantastic penalty. "He's not had an easy night, he's missed a couple of chances but that's what we expected. He's rusty, he needs games; that's obvious, but it's a start for him. We need him to keep playing 90 minutes and that will continue now."
Rooney had insisted before the match that his contract dispute with the club was "100% not about money" and afterwards he said he was relieved to be talking about football again.
"I had to wait quite a long time to take it [the penalty] but I knew what I was doing and where I was going with it," he said. "It didn't bother me too much. There weren't any nerves but it was a relief for me to score and hopefully now I can build on this. I felt good through the game. I felt fit and I want to go on a goalscoring run now."
Rooney added: "I wanted to celebrate with our fans so I went over to them and a fan jumped on me. It was a nice feeling. It was quite a frustrating night until then and we were thankful to get the win in the end. It was a job well done. They [Rangers] got a lot of men behind the ball and made it difficult for us and it was hard to break them down."
United have not conceded a goal in their five Champions League matches and though they are still not absolutely certain to win Group C – they must avoid a two-goal defeat on 7 December at home to Valencia, who last night beat Bursaspor 6-1 in Spain – Ferguson could reflect on a handsome run of nine wins from their last 10 away games.
"Our away form in Europe has been very good over the last few years," he said. "But for an injury-time winner for Bayern Munich [in March] we would have been unbeaten for three years. We've found a way of playing against foreign teams and with good composure. "The atmosphere at Ibrox … you have to quieten it, and I think we did that well and deserved to win.
"They [Rangers] were organised and disciplined and very difficult to break down but we had a high amount of possession, three or four half-chances and one very good chance when Michael Carrick went through on goal. That's the thing I will take from the game – the way we kept possession and controlled the game."
Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, argued that the penalty was unjust, the Swiss referee Massimo Busacca ruling that Steven Naismith had illegally challenged Fábio da Silva. "We worked extremely hard and we're disappointed to lose to that kind of goal," Smith said. "I don't think there was any intent from Steven to foul the player so it was maybe a harsh award. If they had carved us open, we wouldn't be happy, but at least you can accept that."
Ferguson, however, was adamant it was the right decision, saying: "It was an assault, a clear penalty." He was angered, too, that United had not been awarded one inside the opening two minutes, when Steven Davis brought down Dimitar Berbatov. "It was another clear penalty, six yards away from the assistant referee on the goalline."
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