David Moyes had to talk to Danny Welbeck about the need to be "last off the training field" to improve his game and pointed to Wayne Rooney as an example.

Welbeck scored twice in Sunday's 3-0 win at Aston Villa to take his total to five for the season. Robin van Persie's absence for a month because of a groin injury gives the 23-year-old striker a chance of an extended run yet Moyes was surprised that he had to speak to Welbeck regarding his need to give more to improve.

"A little bit, yes," the United manager said. "I think the young boys here are educated to keep improving and practice, but sometimes you can, without knowing, slip away from that. Everybody told me that he scored only one goal last season but I think he's got about five this season, so that's a positive start for him. He's been out with [a knee] injury but he needs to score more goals."

Moyes used Rooney to make the point to Welbeck. "I've got to say we had a word with him about a month ago and we said that he needs to be the last off the training field.

"Wayne's out there practising his finishing each day, whether it's taking free-kicks, shooting from tight angles or bending them in, whatever it may be Wayne's practising. I said: 'Danny, you need to be out there every day finishing, even if it's 15 minutes at the end.'"

Welbeck took the advice. "He did and to be fair he's out [there]," Moyes added. "If you remember when he got through against Villa on the right and just pulled it past the post [to score], it was similar practice to what he's been doing regularly. I thought: 'Here you go, put your practice into operation here.' He's a quick boy and all-round I think Danny has got an awful lot of attributes and he just has to say: 'Hey, come on, I'm going to have to take this on to another level.' We're trying to get him to do that.

"What gets you a game as a striker? Goals. Whether you score them inside the box or outside the box, from distance or from tap-ins, if you want to be a striker in the Premier League and especially at a club like Manchester United you have to be a goalscorer."

Asked if Welbeck needs more edge as a forward, Moyes said: "He has a bit of that, but you can be nice and you can be a good centre-forward and a really good player. I think he needs to say: 'This is what I do and this is what I have to do regularly.' We challenged them a bit on Sunday, told them to stand up a bit here and I thought Danny rose to the challenge and took the bait. I think he said: 'OK, I'll show you,' and that was good for him and good for the team."

Shinji Kagawa is training again after the illness that ruled him out of the trip to Villa.