Former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen admits Red Devils captain Wayne Rooney ‘does not look totally himself’ as the striker continues his run of fluctuating form.

Always regarded as a ‘confidence player’, the England record goalscorer has often gone through dips of form throughout his career, but he has come under considerable fire from pundits and even his own fans for his performances so far this season.

Rooney has netted just twice in the Premier League this term – though he has netted eight in all competitions for club and country, including a hat-trick against FC Bruges in the Champions League.

But in many games he has cut a frustrated figure on the pitch, with the forward failing to make an impact in Sunday’s stale Manchester derby, which ended goalless.

Meulensteen coached Rooney throughout his most prolific Premier League spell between 2007 and 2013, and while he admits the striker is going through a rut, he insists it’s unfair to place the blame fully on the skipper and he believes that the team’s change of style under manager Louis van Gaal is a big factor in the 30-year-old’s decline.

“You can’t throw it all at Wayne himself, it’s a combination of a few things,” he told the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast.

“Wayne is an adventurous player who likes to have freedom on the pitch, to roam around and get involved and find his own way to get into the game.

“I think at the moment he’s a little more restricted, he doesn’t always get the ball when he wants it and where he wants it.

“Manchester United are going through a transformation from the style Sir Alex Ferguson liked to play.

“He wanted to play with a lot of creativity, a lot of freedom and, at times, risk, but now under Louis van Gaal it’s much more calculated. It’s more about working your way up the pitch, it’s more laboured and more pedestrian.

“Wayne’s stats in the derby may have looked poor, but a lot of players’ stats also looked poor.

“But I do feel that he is not totally himself when I see him play at the moment.”