Manchester United football team's new manager Louis van Gaal feels confident in Wayne Rooney as captain and has urged the forward not to let the burden of the club's captaincy weigh heavily on his shoulders.
Van Gaal handed the armband to Rooney and he will captain United for the first time in a competitive match in their English Premier League opener against Swansea City on Saturday.
Van Gaal also revealed that he has warned Rooney to lead by example off the pitch as well, where his attitude has been questioned in the past, and said that he told the forward that maybe it was too much for him as a captain but he should let it fly, Sport24 reported.
The Dutchman added that because in the United States in pre-season, Rooney scored a lot of goals, made a great amount of assists so he wanted to say that to the striker.
Van Gaal said that Rooney's attitude was the reason why he was picked for captaincy, adding that more or less, more on the pitch and on the training ground and not so outside of the pitch, but he has explained to the skipper also outside the pitch is also very important for him.
Van Gaal said that Rooney accepted the responsibility and he likes very much how the striker trains and also how he performed in the friendly against Valencia and how he performed to his fellow players.