Stan Collymoore questions Wayne Rooney's ability to return to form
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymoore has said that Wayne Rooney may struggle to regain his form after being tormented by speculation surrounding his private life.
Allegations of an extramarital affair began appearing in the press during the international break earlier this month, and Rooney has struggled to find his form since. After six league games, he has scored
only one goal and looked increasingly frustrated in Manchester United's attack.
Collymore, himself a controversial figure during his footballing career, said that he fears Rooney will not be able to revert to his old form for club and country.
"I genuinely worry that we might have seen the best of Wayne Rooney for this reason – mentally now he’s going through lots of torment. We know that he’s brought it upon himself," he told talkSPORT.
Like former Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan, Collymoore said that Rooney will need to learn how to cope with the negative aspects of being in the public eye.
"The issue is if you sell your wedding you are saying to people 'I am happy for my daughter, my son, my mum to be there in the paper'. So you can’t then when things are going wrong, particularly if you
put yourself in schtuck, to then say 'stop at the front door'."
Absent against Valencia
Rooney has been left out of the United squad that faces Valencia in the Champions League on Wednesday, but the 24-year-old will hope to recover from his ankle injury in time for his team's league clash
with Sunderland on Saturday.
Collymoore added that Rooney's ability to focus on the pitch will be decided by the state of his private life.
"The problem isn’t just going to be about Wayne Rooney’s form, it’s going to be sitting at home. Whatever goes on with him and his wife it will be sorted out in the wash in however many months or years
but the mental impact that that has on you," he said.
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