Manchester United victory over Liverpool inspired by half-time row led by Wayne Rooney, says Louis van Gaal

Rooney was prevalent in an argument at half-time at Anfield last weekend, but went on to score the winner in the second half

Wayne Rooney celebrates scoring for Manchester United against Liverpool (Getty Images)

Louis van Gaal praised Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney ahead of this weekend’s Premier League visit of Southampton, and admitted that his claim that fortunes this season would improve should the striker get himself back among the goals has been justified be his recent form.

Rooney has scored five goals in his last four outings, the most important of which saw United beat rivals Liverpool 1-0 last weekend. It emerged afterwards that a row developed within the United changing room at half-time, but Van Gaal believes that this has a positive impact on the players and inspired them onto victory.

The Dutchman admitted that he was pleased with the tension at the interval because it showed the players were standing up and taking the responsibility for both the performance and the result on to themselves.

Asked about Rooney taking a leading role in the half-time row, Van Gaal said: “Not only Wayne Rooney is doing that, there are several players doing that and that is what I want.

“The players are self-responsible, not only the manager. That is also why I have made this approach to the players and so on because responsibility for the result and commitment is very important that your team is showing that.

“The fact that Rooney is scoring and we have won our games, or at least we drew versus Newcastle away. There is a parallel. I have said that always, he is not always only important as a player but also as a captain. I’m very happy with him.”

But while United have overcome an eight match winless run to embark on a five-game streak without defeat, Van Gaal accepted that he was just one loss away from seeing his future thrown into doubt once again.

The main factor for Van Gaal though was not what was written about him in the media but what his players displayed towards him, and he said that up until now the squad has been playing for him and has shown no signs of disillusion despite crashing out of the Champions League and falling away in the title race.

“Until now I haven’t seen it,” Van Gaal said when asked about the effect of his future on the players. “No I don’t think so. I think I have a relationship with the players of Manchester United, that’s the most important thing.

“I think the pressure is a little bit gone but it is returning if we lose against Southampton. It is always the same pressure for Manchester United. We have to win, our fans are always expecting us to win and certainly at home.”