Wayne Rooney put off the spot by Sir Alex Ferguson

WAYNE Rooney has revealed he asked Sir Alex Ferguson to take him off Manchester United penalty duties.

The striker blazed his latest effort over against West Ham last month, the second time this season he has failed from the spot.

Ferguson indicated he needed to make a change, and when United got another penalty against Fulham last weekend, it was Ryan Giggs who stepped up to put his side ahead.Rooney has revealed Robin van Persie, has now taken over as United’s number one taker.

“To be honest it was my choice,” Rooney said. “It wasn’t good enough. I went in to speak with the manager and said I’d spoken with Robin and told him he could take them. At a club like this, to miss two penalties like I did and not hit the target wasn’t good enough.”

Ferguson, meanwhile, believes the “sadistic nature” of his Manchester United side lies behind their failure to kill teams off. Ferguson says United were lucky to beat Southampton 2-1 on Wednesday, a result that followed a string of similar performances in which they were in control only to end up hanging on for victory.

“It must be hard for our fans,” said Ferguson. “It is the sadistic nature of our team.”