Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney insists the players are fighting to ease the pressure on manager Louis van Gaal and turn the club’s season around.

Van Gaal has found himself under increasing scrutiny after a six-game winless run which has seen United exit the Champions League and fall nine points behind Barclays Premier League leaders Leicester.

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The Dutchman walked out of his weekly press conference on Wednesday after accusing the media of trying to undermine him in his position as United manager.

Rumours have been circulating all week that Van Gaal could lose his job with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho now available and reportedly willing to take the United hot seat if the opportunity arises.

But Rooney hopes United’s players can save Van Gaal’s job.

“Obviously you have a lot of people talking about things they believe are happening but in reality a lot of people who are writing that stuff don’t know what’s happening,” Rooney told Sky Sports News HQ.

“We’re working hard and fighting for the manager to try to get results and turn the season around. It’s important we all stick together.”

United have not won since leaving Watford with three points on November 21, a result which took them to the Premier League summit.

Rooney admitted a nightmare month has left United short on belief ahead of a Boxing Day trip to Stoke and back-to-back home matches against Chelsea and Swansea.

“We haven’t won games in the last few weeks so it’s normal confidence will be a bit lower,” he said.

“We need to try to get it back because we’ve got some tough games coming up and need to be at our best to win them.

“As a group of players we know we can do better and we’re all working together to try to come up with the best solution to help us win football matches.

“It’s not nice when you’re getting criticised every game. It’s tough for the players to deal with. We get hurt because we’re proud people and proud to play for Manchester United. When it’s not going right it’s hard to take and frustrating.

“We need to get through this group of games coming up because the last few games haven’t been good enough and sometimes it’s fundamentals and basics of the game that you need to get right.”

Like Van Gaal, Rooney has received plenty of criticism this season after netting only twice in the Premier League.

“We all have families and sometimes there’s a lot of stuff that gets written which is not nice for your family to see,” Rooney added.

“It’s okay for me to deal with but there’s people in my family who aren’t used to it and it’s tough for them.

“But that’s part of being a football player these days. I know my performances can be better. I’m working hard to try to improve them.”