Wayne Rooney has admitted that Angel Di Maria‘s performances for Manchester United have disappointed after the Argentine was withdrawn at half-time against Sunderland on Saturday.

The British-record signing failed to make an impact at Old Trafford against Gus Poyet’s men, extending his run without a league goal to 14 games, and was replaced by Adnan Januzaj at the break.

Louis van Gaal later backed Di Maria to come good, hinting that he is low on confidence, and Rooney feels the Argentine will eventually prove why United parted with nearly £60 million to sign him from Real Madrid last summer.

“[Di Maria’s performance] was one of those days every footballer has,” Rooney told reporters. “He’s a great player, he’s shown that and you don’t lose your talent overnight.

“Hopefully he’ll get back to his best and start giving some great performances for us. He has a lot of experience and I think he’ll figure it out – we all have to do that sometimes.

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

Rooney netted both goals as United beat the Black Cats 2-0 to remain on course for a top-four finish, but a number of fans booed the team during the game as frustations grew at Old Trafford.

When asked about discontent from supporters, Rooney told reporters. “I think that’s normal. The fans here are always brilliant – they want us attacking at every opportunity but you can’t do that all the time.

“Sometimes you have to work the opposition to tire them out which, towards the end, is how you win games.”