Dwight Yorke backs Wayne Rooney to rediscover his best form

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has jumped to the defence of Wayne Rooney as criticism of the miss-firing skipper intensifies.

Rooney has come under fire for some disappointing performances in recent weeks which have led to the striker scoring just two goals in the Premier League so far this campaign.

The 30-year-old has performed much better in the Champions League with four goals in his five games so far – although three of those came in the thrashing of Club Brugge in the play-off round.

Rooney’s slump in form has seen increasing calls from the clubs fans for Rooney to be dropped while record Premier League goal-scorer striker Alan Shearer has also voiced his criticism of the striker in recent weeks.

However, former United striker Dwight Yorke has now jumped to the defence of Rooney by insisting his poor return in the league shouldn’t be a major cause for concern. The Trinidad and Tobago legend expressed his surprise at the mounting criticism of Rooney and says it can’t be easy for him to be played in several positions, and feels the player has what it takes to rediscover his best form again.

In an exclusive interview with 888sport, Yorke said:

“I’m very surprised that some ex-players are criticising Wayne Rooney. If he was 33 or 34 I could maybe get that but at 30? Listen, we know he’s not playing the best but it doesn’t mean he deserves to get dropped. When you look at how United have played he’s hardly been the poorest player on the pitch.”

“There is no doubt in my mind he will be able to turn things around. He’s had to endure a lot because he’s never really playing in the same position week in, week out. He’s been asked to play midfield, out wide, right, left, centre-forward because he’s such a good player and that’s counted against him. You look at Alan Shearer who broke all those records. You didn’t ask Shearer to play right wing or left wing.”

Yorke spent four years at Old Trafford and his formidable partnership with Andy Cole led to three league titles so he certainly knows what he’s talking about when it comes to finding the back of the net.

There is little doubt Rooney is enduring a slump in form right now but as Yorke points out, he’s been asked to play in a variety of positions and he’s playing in a United team that’s lacking creativity going forward.

If Louis van Gaal could get his attacking players to finally click, then I’m sure we’d see a confident Rooney finding the back of the net more regularly again.