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| Louis van Gaal had initially had his doubts about England's record goalscorer |
LOUIS VAN GAAL says his perception of Wayne Rooney before he arrived at Old Trafford has proved to be off the mark and he has been surprised by his strength of character, professionalism and leadership qualities.
He sees Rooney's enduring ability to shrug off criticism and emerge from fallow periods in his career as a template for other players.
"He is an example for everybody, not only for his team-mates but also for other players from other clubs," he said. "And also for the manager because he is a very social human being and he has a professional attitude.
"I could not imagine that when I was the coach of the Dutch national team before I came to United. I had heard other things but he has shown a fantastic attitude and I am very happy with him."
One quality Van Gaal has never doubted is Rooney's ability to score and that enduring faith was justified when his captain ended 11 months without an away Premier League goal with United's third in a surprisingly comfortable win at Goodison Park.
He pointed to the timing of his run as much as the shot that put Rooney level with Andy Cole as the Premier League's second highest goal scorer with 187.
"He is always running in behind at the right moment and that is more important [than sheer pace]," he said. "As a player I was not so fast as Wayne and Wayne is not so fast as Anthony Martial, but when you go at the right time then you are always faster than your opponent. He needed the goal - maybe it's the start of many."
Van Gaal's decision to shake-up his team after the crushing defeat at Arsenal produced the perfect response to set up a critical week when United face neighbours City in the Manchester derby following a Champions League trip to CSKA Moscow.
Daley Blind and Memphis Depay were left on the bench following the trauma of Holland's failure to qualify for Euro 2016 with Van Gaal admitting Ryan Giggs had had a quiet word with winger Memphis about his attitude.
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| Wayne Rooney scored his first goal at Goodison Park for eight years on Saturday |
Even Juan Mata was replaced at half-time but Van Gaal's got his selection and tactics spot on; United strangled Everton's normal verve and were in complete control apart from a 15-minute spell just after the break when David De Gea made two important saves.
The good performances of three of the four players Van Gaal recalled - Morgan Scheniderlin, Ander Herrera and Phil Jones, who resumed his impressive centre back partnership with the outstanding Chris Smalling, provided the United manager with plenty of food for thought.
Roberto Martinez struggled to explain Everton's low-key display even though the death of club legend Howard Kendall prompted a sombre atmosphere.
"It was very strange," he said. "The sad feelings surrounding Howard Kendall, the emotions of coming back from internationals, I don't want to believe that had an effect. But the way we performed was very uncharacteristic."
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard 6; Coleman 6, Stones 6, Jagielka 5, Galloway 6; Lennon 5 (Deulofeu 72, 5). McCarthy 6, Barry 5, Naismith 5 (Kone 46, 6); Barkley 7, Lukaku 6.
Booked: Coleman, Lukaku.
NEXT UP: Arsenal (a)
Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea 7; Darmian 6, Jones 7, Smalling 8, Rojo 6; Schneiderlin 7, Schweinsteiger 7 (Carrick 73, 6); Mata 6 (Lingard, 46, 7), Herrera 8 (Fellaini 80, 5)), Martial 5; Rooney 7.
Booked: Rojo, Schweinsteiger. Goals: Schneiderlin 18, Herrera 22, Rooney 62.
NEXT UP: CSKA Moscow (a)
Referee: J Moss (West Yorks).
Stat: Wayne Rooney is now only one goal behind Denis Law's total of 237 in all competitions for United.
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