Rooney: Tough Time Will End

Wayne Rooney concedes Manchester United are in a tough period but he was disappointed not to help spur the Reds on to three points against Chelsea.

The skipper performed well and was voted BT Sport's Man of the Match in Monday's goalless draw, going close to grabbing a late winner when he was unable to steer Cameron Borthwick-Jackson's driven cross on target.

Rooney was restored to the line-up after starting on the bench at Stoke City on Boxing Day and was also denied by a fine save by Thibaut Courtois in the first half.

"We created a lot of chances," he told BT Sport afterwards. "We didn't manage to take one but I thought we played some great stuff. Most of all, the crowd were excellent today. You could see how much it meant to the players. We're going through a tough time but we've all stuck together and put up a great fight. It's a disappointing result as we dominated the game but that's football."

Rooney was asked about suggestions in the media that the players were not performing for manager Louis van Gaal and responded: "A lot of people say a lot of different things. We'd be letting ourselves down if we didn't go out on the pitch and play football and give our all. You've seen the fans again today – they follow us everywhere.

"We wouldn't be professional players if we didn't do that. We have got to fight until the end. We are in tough times. Everybody knows that."

The striker was also asked about his challenge on Oscar late in the game, which brought a booking from referee Martin Atkinson.

"I think obviously it was accidental," he said. "I knew straight away I caught him and could have caused him a bit of damage. I apologised on the pitch and nothing was meant. I think the referee has seen it and knows there is no intention of hurting him but he's given me a yellow card I probably deserved."