Rooney Responds To United Critics

Wayne Rooney responded to the recent criticism of Manchester United when he made a special appearance on MUTV's Thursday Focus show.

The Reds skipper was a guest of Helen Evans and David May, alongside boxer Anthony Crolla and his trainer Joe Gallagher, and admits the team had a bad eight days when losing to Manchester City, Feyenoord and Watford.

Rooney feels flak from the media goes with the territory when results do not go well. He told MUTV: "That’s football, I think. 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."

Regarding the intense scrutiny of his own form, he said: "Yeah, I think I’ve had that 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.

"I’ve done that [played in different positions] throughout my career. I feel I can play in all positions but I think the manager has made it clear either I’ll play up front or in the no.10 and that’s where he sees me playing. As I said before, it’s not just myself – the whole team is going in and working hard. We had a bad week but we’ve been working hard to put that right."

With the EFL Cup fourth-round draw providing a spicy home tie and the "perfect" chance to avenge the derby defeat against Pep Guardiola's City side, things are looking more positive after Wednesday's 3-1 victory at Northampton Town.

"We got the win last night, we’ve got three home games coming up before the international break and it’s important we try to win all three of them and get our season back on track," said Rooney.

"The cup games against lower-league teams can be difficult. We had to go there and be focused and make sure we did everything to get the win. We controlled the game in the first half but, in the last five minutes of the first half, we were a little bit sloppy and conceded the goal from the penalty they scored. In the second half, we controlled it again and deserved the victory.

"For me, I think it’s the perfect [cup] draw. With what happened in the league, it’s a chance for us to get revenge for that result. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I think City will have 7,000-8,000 fans here, which will obviously make it an even better atmosphere. I think a cup game against City at Old Trafford is the perfect draw for us."

Rooney is convinced the Reds will be challenging for honours this term, with Jose Mourinho working hard behind the scenes to find the winning formula.

"I think he’s been brilliant since he’s come in," said the captain. "Training has changed a lot. The training has been really good and it’s interesting to see how he prepares for games with tactics, how we approach games, and it’s been really good.

"I’m sure obviously we will come back and definitely be challenging this season."