Rooney off to Rotherham but still has a Town future (From Swindon Advertiser)

Rooney off to Rotherham but still has a Town future

6:00am Saturday 10th November 2012 in STFC News By Sam Morshead

Luke Rooney

LUKE Rooney still has a future under Paolo Di Canio at Swindon Town despite agreeing a loan switch to League Two Rotherham yesterday.

The winger commanded a six-figure sum when he was signed from Gillingham less than a year ago, but yesterday agreed a two-month switch to the New York Stadium in a bid to play regular football.

Rooney has not featured under Di Canio since a 45-minute cameo in the 4-1 defeat at Preston, during which he watched the second period with the away fans after being substituted.

Having spent time out at League Two Burton, Rooney returned to the County Ground and again struggled to force his way into the side, with a further loan spell his best bet for first-team action.

Speaking before the move to Rotherham was agreed, Di Canio backed Rooney’s ability, but hinted that he could be best served plying his trade elsewhere on a temporary basis.

“He’s a good, talented player. He finds difficulty in this moment under me because my football is expensive - up and down, up and down - it is difficult for him but he is a very good, talented player,” he said.

“At the moment the difficulty is, with all the three wingers I’ve got and the selection I make for the bench it is crucial for me to cover a few places.

“I have versatile players who can cover left-back and right-back so it’s difficult with injuries.

“In the future I don’t know, but it’s obvious that if he has a chance to play in some place it’s better. If you don’t play football, that can hurt a player especially him. He is a very sensible guy so he needs to play.

“At the moment it is difficult. If everything is okay, if I’ve got three wingers already available to play we will see.

“If there is a chance. Obviously in this moment we have 18 or 19 players, we don’t have a pressure to send him out.

“Now, with the embargo open maybe we can bring in a player who can cover an attacking area as a striker and a winger - a player who is good in both positions - maybe we can think about helping him to play regular football.”