Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has said that he believes Wayne Rooney and his fellow players may be trying too hard to score goals.
United have scored the fewest amount of goals from the top six sides in the Premier League this season, with Rooney scoring just two.
Van Gaal has suggested that it might be a mental block affecting the players rather than the lack of chances created. He has also used the example of Mario Gomez at his time at Bayern Munich, who scored in nearly every match despite having nine to 14 touches a game.
“Players are human beings and they want to score goals but maybe they want it too much and maybe then the choices are not always good.
“Maybe he [Rooney] is doing too much, because you never know as a player how you can improve your shape or your finishing. It can also [create] a lot of doubt and I try to influence that.
“But it can be too hard and then your mental state shall be a little bit less and that has an influence on everything and that’s the most difficult thing as a manager and player to cope with.
“When I was manager of Bayern Munich, the striker was Gomez and he touched the ball nine times on an average in a game — the highest 14 touches — but he scored every game.
“I don’t think our strikers touch less the ball — it’s how the balls are coming to him, how he decides, how quick he is in dealing with the situation.” Van Gaal said.
