Wayne Rooney picks out the managerial traits he would take from Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal

Alex Ferguson, Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has picked out the managerial traits he most admired in three of his former Manchester United bosses.

Rooney joined Championship side Derby as a player-coach in January and has already revealed that he plans to go into management after hanging up his boots.

And United and England's all-time record goalscorer says there are aspects of Alex Ferguson, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho management styles that he will look to replicate.

"Van Gaal's preparation, Fergie's man-management, Mourinho's stubbornness - I think sometimes you need that," he told the Sunday Times.

"[Former England and Everton boss] Sam Allardyce knew what he wanted. You can only manage to the capabilities of your team and that's what Sam has always done. Once I go into it I'm sure I'll have my own way."

Rooney spent the majority of his United career playing under Ferguson, with whom he won five Premier League titles and a Champions League.

And the 34-year-old says the Scot's ability to keep things simple was the secret behind his success.

"He was incredible. It wasn't complicated," he added. "The big thing was he had trust in people. He trusted his coaches to put sessions on, he trusted his players.

"People always ask how were his team talks - a lot of his team talks were just: 'You 11 are better than them. Go win the game'."

Rooney also shed light on his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, a player with whom he struck up a fruitful partnership at United.

"With Cristiano, when I first got to United we used to go to games and training together," he said. "I remember the night before a game stopping off at McDonald's because he wanted a Big Mac. 

"He was trying to put weight on because he was so thin. I was driving the car, having to go through the drive-through to get him a Big Mac."

Rooney is under contract at Derby until summer 2021, although the club have the option to extend his deal by another year.

The Championship is currently on hold until April 4 at the earliest amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).