Ferguson maintains Rooney is still evolving

His five goals in four games have included the kind of finishing for England on Wednesday night which leads Bryan Robson, for one, to believe he is currently in the goalscoring form of his life. But Sir Alex Ferguson made it clear yesterday that Wayne Rooney remains a work in progress.

The Manchester United manager believes that only when Rooney hits his mid-20s (hard to countenance that that's still three years off) will he achieve the consistency United are looking for in him. "You just hope – as with all young players – that when they get to their mid-20s they are going to be the full article in terms of their authority and timing and decision-making and how they live their lives," Ferguson said. "These are all important issues when players grow up."

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There is certainly a considerable gulf between Rooney – who, with Carlos Tevez not back in Manchester from South America until 2pm yesterday, should start against West Bromwich today – and one of the ideal goalscorers Ferguson had in his mind's eye. "Maybe [Rooney is] going to get that thing experienced players do – like Gary Lineker, [who] never kicked a ball in a game and scored two goals," Ferguson said.

Highly improbable. The chances of Rooney simply hanging around for an opportunity in the box are about as slim as him popping up as a Match of the Day presenter when he's hung up his boots. Of course, what Lineker had and Rooney lacks is a single, pre-defined role. Ferguson admitted as much in South Africa this summer when he said that he had "sacrificed himself for the team last season and I think I have to take a bit of responsibility for it". But the manager's line now seems to have hardened and the bleak reality for Rooney on that score yesterday was that he still cannot expect to be played through the middle, week-in, week-out.

"I may change him from time to time," Ferguson said.

Ferguson does believe that the confidence imbued in the England set-up by Fabio Capello has helped. "I think England winning – that's given them all more confidence," he said. "I think Fabio's done very well."