Chris Smalling has backed Manchester United and England's "main man'' Wayne Rooney to start firing again after being dropped by Jose Mourinho.
In the public eye since breaking onto the scene as a precocious teenager, the United boss on Friday said that the forward appeared to have been taken aback by this season's scrutiny and criticism.
Mourinho went as far as to say Rooney had been damaged by over-the-top criticism in the aftermath of England's World Cup qualifier in Slovakia and the following day made the bold move to take his captain out of the starting line-up.