There's fat chance Fergie will play me! Rooney reveals weight battles at United

Posted Thursday, September 06, 2012 by Dailymail

Wayne Rooney has admitted his recent spat with Sir Alex Ferguson isn't the first occasion the pair have been at loggerheads over the striker's below-par fitness.

Ferguson was not happy with Rooney's condition when he returned for pre-season training this season and the United boss even suggested an enforced break after cutting his leg might be just what last season's top scorer needed to rediscover peak condition.

And now the England striker has admitted needing to take action when his fitness levels were below the standards required, recalling an episode in 2009.

There's fat chance Fergie will play me! Rooney reveals weight battles at United
Back to basics: Rooney has conceded he was overweight when he returned to training in 2009

'Early July: The first day back at pre-season training. I'm like most blokes, I put on a few pounds after a holiday' he said in an extract of his new book 'Wayne Rooney: My decade in the Premier League' in the Mirror, who are serialising his latest autobiography.

'Even if I don’t train for a week, I put on two or three, but when I get back to Carrington for the first day of work, I’m in for a shock.

'The scales in the club gym tell me I’ve put on a few more pounds than expected – seven. Seven!

'Then I remember – I drank a few bevvies while I was away. I’m stocky. I’m not like Ryan Giggs, all bone and lean muscle.

'But I gain weight quite easily. It’s not a problem though. It’s not as if the manager is leaning over my shoulder as the numbers come in, tutting and making jokes about me eating too many chip butties.

'As a striker I need to work hard all the time. I need to be sharp, which means my fitness has to be right to play well. If it isn't, it shows,'

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