My best is yet to come for Manchester United and England - Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney has promised that his best days are still to come despite a series of underwhelming performances for club and country over the past 12 months.

The 28-year-old scored and was sent off in Manchester United's victory over West Ham United on Saturday, but was defended by manager Louis van Gaal despite the reckless nature of the red card.

But the United and England captain believes that he is about to hit his peak as a footballer.

"I still believe I can get better as a footballer," Rooney told The Sunday Times.

"In the next three to five years you will see me as a different player. The next two or three, I feel these could be the best years of my career.

 "I’m at a stage, especially after playing at this club for 10 years, where I’ve picked up a lot about the game. I’ve learnt. I now know exactly what I want to do on the pitch and I’m fit and ready to do it."

Rooney also revealed that he has no trouble playing in whatever position he is asked to by Van Gaal and that he would be happy to drop deeper and play a midfield role.

"[Van Gaal] goes into so much detail about the opposition and there’ll be times I’ll be needed to play deeper or wider, which I’ve no problem doing.

"But in the main I feel I’ve still got at least two or three years up front. I know I’ve the qualities to play in midfield. I’ve done it comfortably. There’ll come a time when I move to a deeper position for good and that could be this week, it could be in a couple of years. It’s down to the manager and I’ll accept it."