I went crazy when Man Utd pals covered my head and started punching me on train to match

Wayne Rooney explained how he "lost his head" after falling victim to a prank from his Manchester United team-mates.

A strong team spirit and camaraderie were hallmarks of all of Sir Alex Ferguson's squads, regardless of who came in and out over the years. It contributed to their dominance on the pitch in the Premier League and Europe.

However, it wasn't all work and no play, especially when out of sight of their formidable manager. Rooney recounted one particular incident which summed that up perfectly during an interview with former colleague Gary Neville on The Overlap.

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Neville was a fan of the banter in the dressing room, especially when he came to watch from afar. "It's brilliant, because we got older," he said. "I remember me and [Paul] Scholesy used to sit over in the corner just laughing our heads off, because you were keeping us young."

Rooney was the butt of the joke on this occasion, with Darren Fletcher, Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea catching him off guard while they were travelling to an away match, reports the Daily Star.

He recalled: "I remember on a train, I think Fletch got FHM or Zoo or something like that and it had a blow up bin for your beers. We were on the train on the way to a game.

"I was sat with you and [Ryan] Giggsy and they were sat on the four seats behind - Fletch, Rio, Sheasy. They blew it up, put it over my head and started punching me. I've lost me head. The coffee cup nearly went at them."

While Rooney was on the receiving end there, he was far from an innocent bystander. Prior to joining