A difficult first season of the Louis van
Gaal era ended with a somewhat
underwhelming 0-0 draw at Hull on
Sunday.
Despite a disappointing run of one win in
their final six games, United achieved
their aim of Champions League
qualification - but Rooney is hungry for so
much more.
The United skipper is used to challenging
for titles and that is what he wants to be
doing next season.
Van Gaal's team finished 17 points behind
this year's winners Chelsea, but Rooney
insists the gap between the two teams is
capable of being bridged, so long as the
club make the right moves in the transfer
market.
"I believe we are (close)," the United
captain told Sky Sports.
"You take the first 10 games and I think
we had 13 points.
"When you consider from after that
amount of games to where we've
finished, we've probably got as many
points after that as anyone else.
"I think we're close, there's no doubt
about it. You can see in our
performances, we're outplaying teams,
dominating possession, and it's just that
final thing of taking our chances.
"In the (defeat at) Chelsea, if I had scored
that chance with my left foot then it could
have been a completely different game
and might have put them under a bit of
pressure - it might have been a lot closer
than it's finished.
"As a group of players, myself and the
manager - we all believe we're close and
I'm sure with a player or two in the
summer we'll have a good chance of
going for the title."
A quarter-final exit to Arsenal in the FA
Cup - the one trophy he is yet to win -
remains a sore point for Rooney.
But given the turbulent times at Old
Trafford over the last two years, Rooney is
reasonably satisfied with the season as a
whole.
"There was a change of manager, coaches,
and a lot of new players coming in - so
realistically we knew it was going to be a
tough ask for us to go and win the
Premier League," the striker added.
"The least we wanted was a top-four
finish because, after last season, for this
football club it would've been a disaster if
we didn't make the top four.
"It would have been nice to win some
silverware - that's why the Arsenal defeat
in the cup was so disappointing - but in
terms of the Premier League the most
vital thing for us was getting in the top
four."
Phil Jones thinks United must start well
next season if they are to challenge.
As Rooney pointed out, United had 13
points after their opening 10 matches.
That cannot happen next year, Jones says.
"We need to start well next season, for
definite," the defender said.
"We will go away and have a rest,
recuperate, think about the season and
how we have done, what we can improve
on and we will come back ready to go
again next season.
"If we could have picked up three points
instead of one in places like Sunderland
and Burnley, then you give yourself a
better chance.
"But that is the way the season has gone
and we are reasonably satisfied."
Van Gaal heads to the Algarve this week
for a much-needed break.
He has already started planning for next
season. He held meetings with the players
he wants out of the club over the
weekend.
One of them was Radamel Falcao, who
has been told he can return to Monaco
after scoring just four goals during his
loan spell at Old Trafford.
United are desperate to keep David de
Gea away from Real Madrid, but should
he leave, Victor Valdes did his chances of
replacing his compatriot no harm on
Sunday.
"He was terrific," Jones added. "He pulled
off some wonderful saves. He is a great
goalkeeper. He has very good English and
he is good at communicating."
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