Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted Wayne Rooney's willingness to play out of position resulted in him not being used properly last season.

Rooney took his outstanding domestic performances on to the European stage on Tuesday with his two-goal contribution to United's 3-2 victory over Milan in San Siro. But it is perhaps no surprise Rooney is blossoming in his preferred attacking role following Cristiano Ronaldo's exit for Real Madrid last summer.

"We probably didn't use him [Rooney] properly last season," Ferguson told the US-based radio station Sirius. "We probably exploited his eagerness and enthusiasm to play anywhere. But we know his strengths, we know where he's best and that's where we're using him this season.

"We talk about world-class players and I think that's a misused quote a lot of the time but, when you see his performances of late, you know you're talking about a really world-class player. He is now on 25 goals and there are still 14 or 15 matches to go, maybe more depending on how we do in Europe."