Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney not concerned by his lack of goals

Wayne Rooney has not scored in his last nine competitive fixtures for Manchester United

Manchester United skipper and star forward Wayne Rooney is not concerned with his lack of goals, The Guardian reports. The 29-year-old feels that he has been judged too soon and insisted that the goals will come sooner rather than later.

Following the departure of Robin van Persie, who moved to Turkish side Fenerbahce and Falcao, who has joined Premier League champions, Chelsea, United fans are banking on Rooney to have a splendid season up front. The competition for places and injuries had meant Rooney was deployed out of position on a number of occasions last season, sometimes even in a defensive midfield role as in the match at Stamford Bridge.

Despite returning to his preferred striker’s role, Rooney has failed to find the back of the net for United in their opening three games of the season. In fact, the England international’s last strike for United came way back in April 2015, a run that stretches to nine competitive fixtures.

Rooney’s performance against Tottenham Hotspur and Club Brugge came in for criticism from various quarters, but the player himself believes that he only failed to shine against Aston Villa, incidentally the side that Rooney got his last goal against.

“Yeah, of course. I’m an honest guy, I know when I haven’t played well and against Aston Villa I was below my standards and I know that. I lost the ball too easily and I’m aware of that. It’s not a game I’ll want to look back on, but obviously you have games like that,” he said about the game at Villa Park which United won 1-0.

The English side then faced Brugge in the Champions League play-offs on Tuesday, where Rooney yet again failed to score, but he was satisfied with his overall contribution.

“Fortunately I had a much better game [against Club Brugge], I could have got a goal or two but that’s football,” Rooney said. “I had a couple of half-chances, with the header in the first half, and a couple which I was reaching for, especially early on with the cross off Adnan [Januzaj]. But I think I just have to keep putting myself in the right positions and hopefully one will come.”

Rooney backs himself to score against Newcastle United

Rooney has backed himself to return to scoring ways against Newcastle United on Saturday

Rooney expressed his frustrations that his perceived ‘goal drought’ has generated and expressed hope that he can score against Newcastle United on Saturday.

“I’ve had one bad game this season and everyone’s all over it,” Rooney said. “I know I’ve had that all throughout my career but hopefully at the weekend I can get off the mark.”

“It’s early on in the season. Everyone will write about the end of last season and the beginning of this season [not scoring] but we’re three games into the new season, so it’s down to me to keep going. I’ve experienced this before and the goals will come, I know that, and hopefully that day will come on Saturday against Newcastle.”

Rooney stated ahead of the 2015/16 season that he was excited to be United’s central striker and that hoped to score more than 20 goals. The forward shrugged off suggestions that he was feeling the pressure of meeting those expectations.

“No. I always set myself standards and I try to reach them. My mind’s clear. I know how to play the role. It’s just a case of getting the chances and taking them, which I’m hopeful I’m going to do soon,” he said.

A lack of goals notwithstanding the Reds skipper has found support from the man that matters at Old Trafford – manager Louis van Gaal – who has backed Rooney to come good.