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Roy Keane has hit back at suggestions Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is in decline. The England international is still only 28 but his, and Keane's, former teammate Paul Scholes said he believes the former Evertonian could be past his peak. But Republic of Ireland and Aston Villa assistant manager Keane disagrees, telling the Mail on Sunday: "If you think Wayne Rooney's gone, then you are sadly mistaken." Rooney, who is the third-highest scorer in United's history, finally struck in a World Cup game in England's 2-1 defeat to Uruguay. And Keane, who has been a fierce critic of some other United players, believes Rooney had a reasonable World Cup, despite England's early exit. He added: "I thought he did OK. There was a lot rolled into his position. England scored two and he got one of them. I'm sure Wayne, like lots of the players, will feel he could have done better. Top players are always quick to look at themselves, they are quite self-critical." Rooney, who has scored 40 goals in 95 caps for his country, debuted for England at 17 and moved to United at 18. And Scholes wrote in a Paddy Power blog in May: "There's a chance he's worn out. Wayne's peak may have been a lot younger than what we'd expect of footballers traditionally. "Age 28 or 29 has been the normal 'peak'. With Wayne, it could have been when he scored 27 league goals in 2011-2012 when he was 26."
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