Wayne Rooney says Manchester United had a better season than trophyless Spurs after Europa League win

United find themselves in the same position as Spurs after qualifying for the Champions League, but can boast three more trophies this season than the north London side

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester United can boast more success this year than Tottenham (Getty)

Wayne Rooney pulled no punches when he compared Manchester United’s season to that of Tottenham’s after lifting the Europa League trophy on Wednesday night, having secured the club’s second major cup win of the season and a third trophy in total.

Tottenham mounted a strong second half of the Premier League season to push eventual champions Chelsea, and attracted plenty of plaudits along the way as their attacking-based football under Mauricio Pochettino caught the eye. Spurs finished second in the table, four places and 17 points ahead of United, but both will be in the Champions League next season.

United will join Chelsea, Spurs, Manchester City and Liverpool at Europe’s top table – providing the Merseyside outfit come through a play-off in August – after collecting the Europa League winners’ spot, and Rooney believes that this coupled with the League Cup success means that United’s season has proven a lot more successful that the one at White Hart Lane.

“Look at Tottenham, they’ve had a fantastic season, finished second, with no trophies to show for it,” Rooney said after United’s 2-0 victory over Ajax in Stockholm. “We’re in the same position, in the Champions League, with two trophies.

“I think we all know how important it is for this club to be in the Champions League, so it’s a big win for us today, on both arguments. You can say it’s a trophy but also it’s a Champions League spot.”

Under Mourinho, United have attracted a fair share of criticism for his defence-first tactics, though the bigger problem has been attaining the same level of success that the club not only enjoyed but got used to under Sir Alex Ferguson. David Moyes failed to win anything other than the Community Shield, while Louis van Gaal didi manage to win last season’s FA Cup, only to drop out of the Champions League having worked hard the year before to get the club back among the best in Europe.

Rooney is under no illusion over which is more important, with the club needing to bring back that mentality of winning silverware on a regular basis, and Mourinho’s first year in charge has gone a long way to doing just that.

“We needed to win trophies and to be honest, over the last few years, if you would have said we’ve won four trophies in last two years, then, you would have thought ‘where are those trophies going to come from?’ but we’ve done that, we’ve managed to do that and I feel we’re progressing as a team and a club, and I’m sure there’ll be many more,” the United captain added.

“It’s great to win trophies. It’s what you play football for, to win trophies, I think to answer your question before, it’s right to say we want to qualify for the Champions League, but you know, you want to go try and win that trophy.”

That quest to win claim silverware season after season is certainly helped with a man of Mourinho’s calibre at the helm. The Portuguese has his critics, be it due to his negative tactics in big matches or his habit of stunting the growth of young academy players – whatever he may argue – but there is not questioning his track record. Wednesday’s victory brought with it the 20th major trophy of his managerial career, and Rooney hailed the impact that the former Chelsea boss has had on the team this season in getting back to the Champions League along with winning trophies at the same time.


 Rooney believes United have the right man in charge to bring more success 
 (Getty)

“That’s where this club belongs, where it needs to be, and I certainly believe they’ve got the right man to lead them to that,” Rooney said.

“I think he just knows. Having this season with him, I’ve seen how he works, [makes us] so hard to beat, I think it makes us so hard to beat, and hopes we’ll get a goal or two to win the game.

Rooney was a late substitution in the 2-0 victory over Ajax (Getty)

“We needed to win trophies and to be honest, over the last few years, if you would have said we’ve won four trophies in last two years, then, you would have thought ‘where are those trophies going to come from?’ but we’ve done that, we’ve managed to do that and I feel we’re progressing as a team and a club, and I’m sure there’ll be many more.”

That’s unlikely to include Rooney though, with the England captain confirming that he knows what his next move will be as he heads for the Old Trafford exit this summer.