football Manchester United

Owen: This is the one

2011-08-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Michael Owen praised United’s strength in depth after collecting his first Barclays Premier League winner’s medal at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Despite starring in the league with Liverpool in the late 90s, Owen never won the competition with the Merseysiders, nor with Newcastle during his spell at St James’ Park before his arrival in Manchester.

Owen may not have been central to United’s success this season but he did make 11 league appearances and score twice (including against Blackpool on the final day) as the Reds marched towards a record 19th title.

“As they say, if you can’t beat them, join them,” he told MUTV, smiling. “I won a lot of trophies with Liverpool but to win the Premier League is the pinnacle of anyone’s career. I’m very proud today.

“I’ve not played as much as I did last year but we all have to play our part to win the league and it’s been enjoyable, nonetheless. I’m really pleased and proud to have played with a great crop of lads and obviously the manager’s second to none.”

Rooney: It feels fantastic

2011-08-25T10:40:00.001-07:00

The striker collected his fourth league winner’s medal on Sunday at Old Trafford and described the feeling as “fantastic”.

“This is what you play football to do: to win trophies, to win medals,” Rooney told MUTV. “Every time you win a medal it’s a great celebration. It’s fantastic for the players, the fans, for everybody involved.”

Rooney scored only once in the league before Christmas as he struggled to find form after a disappointing summer with England at the World Cup. But the former Evertonian has looked a completely different player since the New Year and played a massive role in helping the Reds win a record 19th league title.

It was his penalty, after all, that sealed the title last weekend at Blackburn, and his hat-trick at West Ham that resurrected the Reds after the team had gone 2-0 down back in April.

“The first half of the season was a bit of a write-off, really,” Rooney admitted, “but from the turn of the year I feel I’ve contributed to the team and helped us win games. I’ve really enjoyed it and it’s a great feeling to be part of a championship-winning side.”

In the end, United won the league by nine points. But Rooney insists it was far from easy, and pinpointed the league win against Chelsea at Old Trafford earlier this month as the pivotal moment.

“The Chelsea game was massive. Had we lost that game then Chelsea would have been in a leading

Sir Alex heralds special title

2011-08-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

The United boss saw his champions round off the campaign with a 4-2 win over Blackpool that means only two points were dropped at home all season.

The goals have flowed at Old Trafford as Sir Alex utilised his squad to great effect with one last match still to come at Wembley next Saturday as Barcelona stand in the way of another Champions League success for the Reds.

"It's special," the manager told MUTV. "This is a particularly special one because it means we've won the title more than anyone in the country.

"It's history and great for the tradition of this club so I'm really pleased about that."

United finished nine points clear at the Barclays Premier League summit with the boss conceding: "It' didn't feel that way a couple of weeks ago!

"The players have been great, there's a great work ethic in the team. I think they deserved it because there were a lot of great performances. I'm dismissing all that nonsense that it's not a great Manchester United team. It's a great feat winning this league.

"I think our target was to do our best. Yes, we've had some disappointing games away from home but the home form has been fantastic. Another four goals today, seven against Blackburn, five against Birmingham and we've beaten Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham all here. They're top teams so it's pretty good that."