Kevin Keegan says Wayne Rooney only has himself to blame
Former England manager Kevin Keegan has said that Wayne Rooney has only himself to blame for the press scrutiny he has been subject to during this past September.
Allegations surrounding the Manchester United forward arose ahead of the English national team's trip to Switzerland earlier this month. Papers are claiming that Rooney allegedly participated in a prolonged affair outside of his marriage.
Keegan said that Rooney, who earns an estimated £7.3million per year in image rights, must be prepared to deal with the downsides of being in the public eye.
"You can't have all the contracts, sell your wedding to magazines and things like this, and suddenly say, 'that's the tap I want to turn on, but we want to turn the other one off.'"
"It's just one tap, and I know from when I played that if you are advertising boots and all these things, you have to go and make appearances. You are going to appear in the paper."
Made little impact against Bolton
Rooney, who has not scored for United since the allegations and has only managed one goal in six league games this season, cut a frustrated figure during his club's draw to Bolton on Saturday. Youngster Federico Macheda replaced the 24-year-old on the hour
mark.
After the game, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson insisted that Rooney has not suffered a blow to his confidence after the speculation over his private life, but Keegan said the striker's performance signaled a dip in form.
"His performance at Bolton tells me his confidence is shot. For United to get back to where they should be and winning at places like Bolton, they need to be getting Wayne Rooney firing on all cylinders."
United travels to face Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday. Assistant manager Mike Phelan said that Rooney will travel with the team despite picking up a knock to his ankle on Sunday.
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