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An unfamiliar Wolves team crashed to defeat at Old Trafford as boss Mick McCarthy chose to rest his entire outfield line-up from the side that beat Tottenham.

McCarthy made 10 changes as George Friend and Stefan Maierhofer made their first starts in the Premier League, Matt Hill and Andrew Surman their second, Ronald Zubar and Kevin Foley returned from injury, while George Elokobi, Michael Mancienne and Greg Halford also came in.

United got the breakthrough they were seeking from their sustained early pressure in the 29th minute.

It came via the spot after Zubar needlessly handled Darron Gibson’s corner, and Rooney stepped up to confidently despatch low to Hahnemann’s right for his 13th goal of the season.

United made it 2-0 on 43 minutes when Vidic’s towering header from Gibson’s corner proved too powerful for Hahnemann to hold, after the Serbian defender rose above Maierhofer and Zubar.

United made it 3-0 when Antonio Valencia crashed home first time to leave Hahnemann rooted to the spot, after Paul Scholes’s ball over the top had been hooked into the danger area by Dimitar Berbatov.

With the game now well beyond being competitive, Wolves supporters  made their feelings known about McCarthy’s selection policy with loud chants of “Where is our first team?”, “£40 to watch the reserves” and again “We want our money back.”

McCarthy’s selection was hugely controversial, but all will be forgiven if Wolves beat Burnley.