Under-fire Rooney hits back at ´rubbish´ criticism

Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has hit back at criticism of his recent form, claiming a lot of comments aimed his way are “rubbish”.

United faced scrutiny after losing three straight matches before ending the run in a 3-1 EFL Cup win at Northampton Town on Wednesday.

Skipper Rooney has faced particular scrutiny over his form, with many pundits questioning whether he remains worthy of a starting berth in Jose Mourinho’s line-up with the 30-year-old scoring just once in five Premier League outings.

But England’s record goalscorer is paying little attention and says that the criticism aimed at him is nothing new.

Speaking to United’s official website, he said: “I think I’ve had that [criticism] my whole career – a little bit more of late, I think, but that’s football.

“I listen to my coaches and my team-mates, the people around me, and I don’t really listen to what a lot of people out there are saying because a lot of it is rubbish. 

“I have to focus, work hard, of course, and I’ve done that throughout my career. I’ve worked hard and tried to do my best for the team.”

Rooney accepts that criticism is par for the course when United lose three on the trot and says the team can do nothing but work harder to prove people wrong.

“That’s football, I think,” he added. “We don’t win in three games and, of course, everyone is going to talk about it.

“We had a bad week, a bad eight days where we’ve lost three games, and it’s important now we react well to that and come through that.”