"Rooney can fill the gap left by Ronaldo"

24 November 2009 12:03

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher believes Wayne Rooney is starting to filll the gap left by their former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

(GSM) - Darren Fletcher thinks Wayne Rooney can fill the gap that was left by Cristiano Ronaldo when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid this summer. "Any team in the world would miss Cristiano, but you could see at the start of this season that Rooney was really hungry. It’s his time to become a bit more selfish."

After Ronaldo's exit, it looked like United was seeking for new consistency in the team. The Portugese superstar scored a lot of goals for the Mancunians, even more then his colleague up front, Rooney. "Rooney was in the shadows of Cristiano," Fletcher explains to The Telegraph on Tuesday. "He often sacrificed himself for the greater need of the team. Now it's his time to become a bit more selfish and score the winning goals."

Fletcher does look back in delight at the flair that Ronaldo added to the team. "He's a fantastic player and a great goalscorer. He adapted so much when he was here. He went from being a silky winger to being a goalscoring winger and the best player in the world. Hopefully we can become a more-rounded team and other players will raise their game to cover the gap left by his absence."