• Premier League

Van Gaal: Rooney could return to Manchester United attack

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is blaming Wayne Rooney's goal drought on his midfield role and insists he is open to moving his captain back into the attack.

Rooney is United's second top scorer in the Premier League this season with eight goals, one fewer than Robin van Persie, but it is now eight games since he added to his tally for the season with a double in the 3-1 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day.

• Wayne Rooney to score first against Burnley tonight, at 15/4 with bet365*
• For full odds visit www.bet365.com >>
• *All odds correct at time of publishing.

The 29-year-old has failed to register a shot on target in the league this year, despite playing 450 minutes of football. Van Gaal, asked if he would consider restoring the England skipper to the United frontline, said: "It is dependable on the circumstances.

"How we are satisfied, or not; how he is satisfied, or not; if it is a better contribution for our team to play up front, or not. That is something that can change every week.

"When you play him in midfield you are not always in the situation to score. So when you say he is not scoring then, of course, midfielders are not scoring too much. He is not in the front three - he is in the back three of the midfield.

Van Persie and Radamel Falcao have been preferred by Van Gaal in attack recently but have struggled to produce the form that had seen them established among the world's leading strikers in previous seasons and that has led to the spotlight falling on Rooney's role.

However, the United manager claimed he was in an invidious position. Van Gaal said: "When I am not lining up with Falcao, you are asking, 'Where is Falcao?' and when I don't line up Van Persie you are asking, 'Where is van Persie?'

"You always put the question negative, but I am used to that - it is not a problem, I am used to that.

"Are Falcao and Van Persie doing enough? It is always dependable on what we decided and, until this moment, we have not decided that yet.

"It is always a question to the future, so you will have to wait and see, but it is always a team result. You have had a lot of criticism about our defenders, now I don't read any more about our defenders because you cannot say as we are now one of the best.

"I have said this in advance: defence organisation starts with the strikers. Maybe you remember that? Defensive organisation starts with the attackers and attacking organisation starts with the defenders.

"We are a team and the team scores, not the strikers only."

Wayne Rooney last scored in the Premier League on Boxing Day last year © Getty Images

Enlarge

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd