Spot-kicks must improve

Wayne Rooney's penalty miss against West Ham may not have proved costly - but Sir Alex Ferguson still wants his spot-kick takers to improve.

Penalties awarded to Manchester United this season have resulted in more misses than goals, and the boss admits it's a concern. Sir Alex told MUTV: "I don’t think it is [just] one of those things, we must improve on that, I must say.

"There's been a lot of talk about the boy (Rickie) Lambert at Southampton, who has scored 31 out of 31 – that’s what penalty-kick taking is all about.

"There have been several other great examples from over the years. Matt Le Tissier scored 47 out of 48 and there was a player in Scotland who played for Rangers [Johnny Hubbard, who scored 65 out of 68].

"A penalty kick is your opportunity to take an advantage, whether it was a foul or a handball that led to it. You have to score a goal."

Rooney's failure from the spot in Wednesday's FA Cup replay