By NEIL CUSTIS
ALEX FERGUSON axed Wayne Rooney from his Old Trafford farewell then ordered the striker to sort his head out.
Rooney was left to watch Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Swansea from his private box after asking to quit the club for a second time.
He was then booed by a section of fans when he went up to get his medal after the game.
And Ferguson said: “I don’t think Wayne was keen to play simply because he has asked for a transfer.
“He’s asked for a transfer, we refused it. And that is where it lies.
“It was better he didn’t play. He can think it over, mull it over.
“He’s not happy. He’s been taken off a few times but Wayne in top form would not be taken off.
“He should think about his future here, because it will be here.”
But when he was asked in a separate interview whether Rooney would be staying, Ferguson said: “It’s not my decision now.”
Rooney asked for the transfer two weeks ago in a showdown with the boss.
He has been unhappy at being axed, subbed and played out of position.
His exclusion from the second leg of United’s Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid was the biggest blow to the player.
But there have clearly been problems between Rooney and Ferguson for a lot of this season.
And while there was an embrace for each of his players as they got their champions’ medals yesterday Rooney got just a handshake and a pat on the back from Fergie.
United legend and Sky pundit Gary Neville says Rooney needs to take a holiday and think about what he could be throwing away by leaving Trafford.
Neville said: “He has not been himself these last couple of months.
“You can see there is something wrong, he wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s 27, there is nowhere to go from here, believe me. I’ve seen players join Real Madrid and other great clubs and they always want to come back here.
“So I would hope that Rooney settles down over the summer, that he gets his head down and that he brings himself back.
“Players have ups and downs, it’s a rollercoaster. If you play for this club for 20 years it’s a not a bed of roses at times, you have your ups and downs.
“He needs to come away and play for England in the next couple of weeks then have a summer off and, hopefully, he will get his head back to being a Manchester United player.
“He’s a good kid, he loves football, and the players here will look after him, he just needs a bit of thinking time.
“He’s frustrated, these players have massive egos and that’s good.
“You cannot play at this club without a level of confidence, arrogance and ego. And when you don’t play in the big games, for instance against Real Madrid, they get down about it.
“The mind starts to wander a bit and they have to bring themselves back.
“He just needs to pull himself together. He has an agent and he has friends. They need to give him advice that this is the only club he should be playing at.”
Former United striker Dwight Yorke believes incoming manager David Moyes needs to put his arm around Rooney and show him he is loved if the player is going to stay.
Yorke said: “When Wayne Rooney is playing well there is no better player in England so I just feel he needs to be loved.
“Put an arm around him and tell him how good he is.
“When the new manager comes in that will be his role — to try and talk to Rooney and tell him he has a future at this football club.”
When Rooney’s latest attempt to quit United was made public there was an angry reaction from fans who have never truly forgiven him for trying to leave in 2010, claiming the club lacked ambition.
The club as well as Rooney has a big decision to make now.
They would listen to offers of £25million unless Moyes insists he stays. But that is by no means certain.
