Wayne Rooney Expects ‘Old Manchester United’ to Return with Jose Mourinho Boost

Wayne Rooney is expecting Manchester United to challenge for the Premier League title again under new manager Jose Mourinho in 2016-17.

He has revealed that the Red Devils players feel “more like the old Manchester United” under the Portuguese boss, with Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all having been added to the squad in big-money deals.

Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, England’s most successful club have been in decline, barely able to compete for a top-four spot under managers David Moyes and Louis van Gaal—indeed, they will not be in the UEFA Champions League next season after a fifth-placed finish in 2015-16.

But, according to Rooney, there is renewed optimism following the appointment of the perennially successful Mourinho that United can compete for the title again, per Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail:

I think the players feel this is more like the old Manchester United. It’s not just the new signings, we’ve got Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford from last season who made such an impact.

We’re in a very good spot now, we think we can challenge for the Premier League, and we want to put a marker down, in the Community Shield with Leicester [City].

I know it’s a one-off game, but we want to show we can win a trophy early on—we feel that’s an important event for us.

United’s Community Shield clash with Premier League champions Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on Sunday will be Mourinho’s first competitive match in charge at United.

He has overseen a …

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