Football: Rooney keeping eyes on title as United return to top

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney. Photo / AP

If there was an indicator of it being business as usual at Manchester United after returning to the top of the English Premier League for the first time in 2 years, the lack of fanfare said it all.

There were - mercifully - no selfies posted on social media of players pointing to the Premier League table or talk of the club being "back where we belong". If anything, claiming top spot with a 3-0 win against a seemingly doomed Sunderland was met with a collective shrug of the shoulders.

"We are all playing to be No1 at the end of the season and it's nice to be there now," Wayne Rooney, United's captain, said.

"But there's a long way to go, it's still early days and we have to keep working hard to make sure we finish there at the end of the season."

Rooney, who has five Premier League winners' medals tucked away, was keen to keep a lid on the significance of going top, six games into the season. But while manager Louis van Gaal and his players maintain that these are early days, there were signs against Sunderland that United may be ready to challenge again after two years on the dark side of the moon since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.

For the first time since Ferguson left his position in May 2013, United have ended a weekend at the top of the table. At the end of September 2013 under David Moyes, United languished in 12th position, eight points adrift of the leaders. A year ago, as Van Gaal took his first faltering steps in the job, United were seventh but once again eight points behind the pacesetters.

A one-point lead now is promising, but any United supporters who risk becoming intoxicated by their current position should perhaps wait until the end of October before planning a party in May.

Three away games, at Arsenal, Everton and Crystal Palace, will measure United's progress, while the one home league fixture next month - against Manchester City - will arguably provide the litmus test of their credentials.

If it proves to be a red October, United will legitimately be considered as title contenders, but for Van Gaal the only issue is the ongoing development of his team.

"We have a good team, but we can win and lose," the manager said. "You need luck, but I don't have to wait until October [to judge our quality]. Next week we have Arsenal away and I think it is one of the most difficult teams to beat in the Premier League, but we won there last year, so it is possible. I think that Manchester United can win against every team, but you need also luck."

While Sunderland's desperate lack of quality cannot be discounted, the sense of this being a United team on the rise is difficult to ignore. David de Gea's presence in goal gives United solidity and assurance, while Daley Blind's reading of the game and Chris Smalling's blossoming confidence have seen an impressive central defensive partnership emerge in recent weeks.