Sir Alex Ferguson Defends Wayne Rooney and Steve Mcclaren

Sir Alex Ferguson has sprung to the defence of Steve McClaren and Wayne Rooney after England's defeat to Croatia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers.

McClaren's decision-making - from his choice of tactics to his choice of captain - has come under fire and there are reports that his job may come under threat should the situation not improve in the next few games. But after speaking to McClaren on Thursday, Ferguson backed his defended his former assistant.

"Steve has the ability and he should be left to get on with it," said the United manager, who brought McClaren to Old Trafford from Derby during the 1999 treble-winning campaign. There has been the usual over-reaction and some of the things being said are pretty abusive. The thing that hurts you the most is when you see stuff from 'a source within the FA'. I am sure there is no source but it is hard to deal with."

Ferguson also said that McClaren's critics have failed to take Croatia's outstanding home record into account. "What kind of a world is it where people think England will win easily against Croatia, who have not lost a game at home for 14 years?" he said. "Steve McClaren is young but he has the experience of Terry Venables alongside him and I am sure he will be OK."

He also told Rooney to ignore the doubts being raised over his game. The Manchester United striker has failed to score in the Champions League or international football for two years and he experienced another frustrating night in Zagreb on Wednesday. "I know, and deep down every defender in the country knows, the lad will come to life, I have no fears about that at all," said Ferguson. "All he needs is games. And he also needs to focus on what we are telling him because young players can sometimes start to believe what other people are saying or writing about them, which can be very disruptive."

Sir Alex was not totally uncritical of Rooney. The striker flicked a V-sign at supporters protesting at Wednesday's abject defeat, and the Manchester United manager said his player needed to show more patience in future. "Supporters will never change," he said. "They get wrapped up in the emotions themselves because ideally, they want to be playing. I can understand that. The England fans paid good money to travel across to Croatia. They have every right to let the team know they are disappointed."

But Ferguson said Rooney's behaviour did need to be put in perspective: "We are discussing a 20-year-old boy and people are hoping I will say this is the end of him. But there is no problem for me. I know his heart is in the right place, the desire is there, the attitude is good. Why should we create problems for ourselves when all we need is patience?

"Sometimes, things can come too quickly and it has been a bit of a roller-coaster for him in the two years since he joined us. Although he had played for England, at that stage, he was just showing the glimmer of potentially being a great star. But, on a lot of occasions since, he has carried the mantle for us, which is exceptional for a player of such a young age."