WASHINGTON — When former England captain Wayne Rooney was unveiled as DC United's marquee signing in June it was bottom of the MLS Eastern Conference with two wins in 14 matches and had been eliminated from the US Open Cup.

The arrival of the ex-Manchester United and Everton striker on a 3-1/2-year deal reportedly worth $13 million, making him the highest paid player in the club's history, was greeted with great fervor in Washington.

Most pundits thought Rooney, as with many players who head across the Atlantic to finish their careers in Major league Soccer, was a long way past his peak.

The 32-year-old is certainly not the same man who broke the all-time scoring record for club and country, picking up Premier League titles and a Champions League crown along the way.

But he has helped trigger a DC United revival and it is now eyeing a place in the end-of-season playoffs.

The 2-0 victory against New England Revolution Sunday was its third successive victory in a remarkable eight-day period — one that featured a play of the season contender from Rooney.

Its 3-2 win over Orlando City a week earlier resulted from Rooney's last-ditch sliding tackle on an opponent bearing down on DC's open goal near the halfway line before he delivered a perfect crossfield ball for Luciano Acosta to head in.

DC is now unbeaten in its last five matches, with Rooney scoring three times and getting two assists — all of them with the former Everton man as captain.

Its three successive wins in August equals the number it managed in the first 15 games of the season.

DC United was seen as one of the league's underachievers — it last won the MLS Cup in 2004 — but there is now a sense that Rooney is turning it into contenders.

"I think what you're seeing now is teams respecting us a bit more," he said after the win over New England and before DC face the New York Red Bulls Sunday.

"I think in previous games New England has pressed a lot... I think today you could see its hesitancy in doing that and leaving the space for us to get on the ball.

"I think you're seeing teams showing that little bit more respect to us and the Red Bulls, I'm sure they'll have more to think about than they did last time."

United's last clash with the Red Bulls was a 1-0 defeat in Rooney's third game in DC. Now, with his side eighth in the Eastern Conference, six points off the top six and the playoff places with games in hand, the season looks more promising.

DC fans saw Rooney's commitment to the cause last month in his fourth game when he scored his first goal for the club before breaking his nose in a 2-1 win over Colorado Rapids.

The supporters have seen his blood and sweat and now they are hoping for tears of joy from the Mersysider as the season heads toward the MLS Cup climax beginning in October. — Reuters