Wayne Rooney has backed Angel di Maria to play an important role for Manchester United in the business end of the season.

Louis van Gaal substituted the Argentine at half time after an underwhelming performance in Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday at Old Trafford.




Di Maria himself admitted before the game that he is not performing at the levels he wanted to and Van Gaal stressed that it will take time for the club's British transfer record signing to adjust to the ways of English football.

However, the Manchester United captain is not reading too much into recent events surrounding Di Maria or his form. He said that any footballer can have a bad day at the office and the Argentine does have the talent and class to turn it around.
 


"Of course he has [the talent]", Rooney told the club’s official site.

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"It [Saturday] was just one of those days that every footballer has.

"He is a great player, he has shown that and you don’t lose your talent overnight.

"Hopefully he will get back to his best and start giving some great performances for us.”

Rooney also believes Di Maria has enough experience to know what is wrong with his form at the moment and what needs to be done to get back to his best. The Manchester United captain backed the Argentine to figure out his problems and believes he will play an important role from now until the end of the season for the Red Devils.

“He has got a lot of experience and I think he will figure it out, we all have to do that sometimes", explained Rooney.

"There is nothing worse than when everyone keeps going on at you. You have to come to it in your own way and I am sure he will be a big player for us between now and the end of the season.”

Manchester United will take an away trip to Newcastle United on Wednesday and it remains to be seen whether Di Maria slots straight back into the team after his below par performance against Sunderland.

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