Rooney says Roy Keane was correct to criticise Utd team-mates in infamous rant

Wayne Rooney believes Roy Keane was fully justified in his comments about Manchester United team-mates made in the infamous 2005 MUTV rant that ended his Old Trafford career.

Keane singled out six United players individually plus those emerging from the academy ranks in an acerbic diatribe following a dismal 4-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

His criticism was considered so severe that United's management intervened to ensure it was never broadcast on the club's in-house television channel.

It hastened the Old Trafford exit of United captain Keane, who had made 480 appearances for the club, and he left by mutual consent in November 2005, joining Celtic a month later.

But Rooney, one of Keane's team-mates at the time, believes he was correct in his criticism, adding that the Irishman's 'aura' meant he was the one to impress at United rather than Sir Alex Ferguson.

Writing on the subject of leadership in The Sunday Times, Rooney said: 'Now Roy Keane was vocal. I remember my first United training session thinking, 'I need to impress him'. Not the manager. Him.

'I was at United when he gave his infamous MUTV interview but disagree with how it's portrayed.

'Roy was supposedly too critical of his team-mates but I've watched the video and there's nothing wrong with it at all.

'He said that players can't pass the ball ten yards and they're playing for Manchester United and it's not good enough. Well, he's right.'

A season that would see United struggle to keep pace with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea in the Premier League title race reached its nadir on October 29, when a miserable 4-1 loss at the Riverside Stadium pushed them down to seventh place.

Keane had already made various appearances on MUTV but was invited onto a programme called 'Roy Keane Plays The Pundit' in the aftermath of the Middlesbrough defeat, a game he missed through injury.

The United skipper proceeded to single out various team-mates for their poor performances in the game as clips of Middlesbrough's four goals were replayed.

Watching back a 30-yard goal scored by Gaizka Mendieta, Keane criticised goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, saying: 'He should have saved that. That was saveable.'

On his Irish compatriot John O'Shea, he said: 'He's just strolling around when he should have been busting a gut to get back.'

On defender Rio Ferdinand, who lost the ball to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink for Boro's second goal, Keane said: 'I have seen that happen to Rio before. It is poor defending.

'Just because you are paid £120,000 a week and play well for 20 minutes against Tottenham you think you are a superstar.'

Keane then said 'I can't understand why people in Scotland rave about Darren Fletcher' before saying about Kieran Richardson, 'he is a lazy defender who deserved to get punished…he wasn't doing his job.'

On Alan Smith, he added: 'What is he doing there? He is wandering around as if he is lost. He doesn't know what he is doing.'

And speaking generally about the young players in the United squad, Keane said: 'When they sign the contracts, they think they have made it.

'They owe it to the manager, the staff and the fans. They think they have made it. They haven't.'

Even some of the more experienced members of the team weren't spared, with Keane saying: 'The younger players have been let down by some of the more experienced ones - they are not leading. There is a shortage of characters.

'It seems to be in this club you have to play badly to be rewarded. Maybe that is what I should do when I come back [from injury] - play badly.'

Reflecting on the extraordinary criticism, Ferguson said Keane had 'slaughtered everyone' and added 'the hardest part of Roy's body is his tongue. He has the most savage tongue you can imagine.'

Keane defended his comments despite them leading to his Old Trafford departure.

He said: 'I had to do it. I was disappointed with the players but it was MUTV, propaganda for the club. So I did the interview.

'It was getting a bit silly so I got the players together in the dressing room and told them it was f****** nonsense.

'They were all going, 'yeah, yeah'. Not one of them had an issue. Not one.

'Even now people still say: 'The video had to be destroyed.' Like it was a nuclear weapon or something.'