London, July 23 : Manchester United coach Alex Ferguson has admitted that he has been hard on striker Wayne Rooney.

Fergie acknowledged that Rooney, England hit man, was consistently played out of position last season as the club won the Premier League and Champions League.

Fergie accepts the star's goal tally suffered as a result.

But now the Scot is ready to turn Rooney into a major threat once more by using him as a central striker.

According to The Sun, Ferguson conceded: "I think I have to take a bit of responsibility. He has sacrificed himself and never complained about it, which says a lot for the lad. We have to define his role a bit better for us. I think his best position is through the middle, either in a front role or tucking in just behind."

Rooney, 22, scored 18 times for United in 2007-08. But he did not hit the heights of previous campaigns and only last weekend Brazilian legend Pele questioned whether he had shown enough improvement over the last four years.

Ferguson paid Everton 26-million pounds for Rooney and remains convinced the fee will turn out to be good value.

ANI