Sir Alex defends Wayne Rooney over red card for England

Manchester United manager Ferguson, currently on a mid-season break in New York City, has yet to see the incident which led to Rooney’s dismissal.

But the Scot insists that Rooney has made progress in calming his temperament and believes that the signs of maturity are already there in the 25-year-old.

“I texted him (Rooney) but he's not got back to me yet,” Ferguson said on The Football Show on Sirius XM. “Obviously he will be disappointed. 

“I didn't see it, I haven't seen it all. It was one of these, how do you put it, reflex actions by the boy. He's been tackled, and he's reacted.

“He's got the fiery temper which to my mind is not the worst thing in the world.

“But he's shown tremendous improvement in terms of his temperament, his reactions to tackle and things like that over the last few years.

“As maturity comes along, then it brings other things you see, it brings the responsibility, which he is improving all the time."