Manchester United's Wayne Rooney will enjoy a goalscoring purple patch, insists Sir Alex Ferguson

Self-belief: Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Rooney to hit the goalscoring trail once more
(Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Tom Dutton13 October 2015

Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Wayne Rooney to overcome his current goal drought and enjoy a purple patch.

The Manchester United captain, who missed England's victories over Estonia and Lithuania with an ankle complaint, has scored just one Premier League goal in 13 games but is likely to return to fitness in time for Saturday's trip to Goodison Park.

And Ferguson expects the 29-year-old to restore some self-belief and start scoring on a regular basis for Louis van Gaal's side in the coming weeks.

The former United boss told ESPN: "All the strikers I had, everyone relied on their confidence. When they were scoring they think they can never stop, when they're not scoring they think they're never going get a goal, it's a fact. When I was a striker I was the same; my dad used to say make sure you hit the ball, don't try and pass it in the net.

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"Eric Cantona had it, [Ruud] van Nistelrooy had it, [Andy] Cole had it and then the rich stream comes along again and they're back to normal. I think we'll have to wait, it'll happen. [Rooney will] go on a run, don't worry about that.

"Wayne was a typical English player, determined when he came to United, so it's not a surprise that he is the captain. Plus, there's the longevity he's been there, over 10 years, so that all works into the way United work. If my captains were injured, it was always the case that the most senior players became captain."

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