Rooney Gets Fletcher's Backing

Wayne Rooney's actions over the weekend have been defended by his former Manchester United team-mate Darren Fletcher, who also believes the striker still has a big future at Old Trafford.

England captain Rooney apologised to interim England boss Gareth Southgate and FA technical director Dan Ashworth after images emerged of him which were "inappropriate for someone in his position".

The images were published in The Sun after Rooney socialised into the early hours of Sunday morning at a wedding party at the England team's hotel in the wake of the 3-0 win over Scotland last Friday.

However, Fletcher, who captained Scotland at Wembley, claims Rooney had every right to be celebrating England's victory over their old rivals and is paying the price for his readiness to mingle with the public. 

"If we had won on Friday, the Scotland players would have celebrated. People think it means more to Scotland but that's not true, which is why they celebrated, and rightly so," said the West Brom midfielder.

"People talk about players being detached from reality, not mingling with fans, and not doing things that players used to do in the past.

"I think this is an example of why players are scared to do that because you give a little bit of time, give a few pictures, and then you're plastered all over the newspapers.

"All that is going to do is scare even more players from socialising in public places, because the scrutiny is so much.

"Everyone has got a phone and social media plays such a big part in the game today, that players don't feel comfortable in these environments, and situations like what happened on Saturday night are going to escalate that."

Rooney has found himself out of Manchester United's starting line-up in recent weeks after some indifferent performances but Fletcher, who decided to move on from Old Trafford himself after dropping out of the first-team picture, has backed the United captain to tough it out and make his mark for Jose Mourinho's team.

"I've been there myself and I made that decision [to leave]," said Fletcher. "I was comfortable doing that because I'd enjoyed my time and I was desperate to play.

"Wayne was involved in Manchester United's last victory and he captained England against Scotland. I think sometimes it's highlighted a little bit too much.

"There's not much in the margins between bad and good performances - they're made out to be bigger than they are.

"Wayne is a talented player and he's the leader of Manchester United. I know that because I've been there with him.

"People shouldn't underestimate how much of a leader he is and what a good player he is.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we were sitting here in a few months and he was starring for Manchester United and pushing them to achieve something this season."

Credit: Skysports.com