Wayne Rooney, the manager of the Championship side, Derby County, has stressed that modern days players are more protected than players of his era.
The 35-year-old English tactician stressed that during the early days of his career which took off at Everton, players faced hard tackles, and yet, they hardly fall to attract the match referee’s attention.
Rooney who made his name as a football icon at Manchester United between 2004 and 2017 said, there are now many rules of football that were put together to give players more protection during games.
“The early part of my playing days, genuine hard tackles were going in and players got up and got on with it, but now it’s changed,” Wayne Rooney said.
“Players are protected a lot by the rules of the game. There are a lot of honest and genuine players out there but there is a small minority who try to dictate the referee decisions.”
Rooney went on to frown at the antics of players screaming excessively when tackled to attract the attention of the referee. He said the fact that there are no spectators in match venues has made the pretentious screams of players even louder.
The former England international who was known for his goalscoring ability insisted that the act of players screaming excessively during games is becoming frustrating.
“You hear players screaming [after tackles] and maybe trying to influence the referee”, Rooney noted. “It’s frustrating but it’s part of the game.
“It’s whether the referee is strong enough to see when it’s an actual foul.”
On the part of his players at Derby County engaging in such an act, Wayne Rooney stressed that he does not like his players to showcase such antics during games. He said he likes his players to be honest in their display on the pitch
“We’d be getting desperate if we ask players to dive and scream”, Rooney added. “It’s something I don’t want from my players. I put a lot of emphasis on the players being honest. We want our players to win games through playing football and working hard, not trying to influence referees.
Since Wayne Rooney retired from football on January 15, 2021, to take up the coaching job at the Championship side, he has helped to improve the situation of the relegation-threatened Derby County.
He has been able to inspire Derby County to move from the bottom of the Championship table to a safer zone which could guarantee the club safety against relegation.
As of the time of publishing this report, Wayne Rooney and his boys have climbed to the 19th spot on the league table of 24 clubs. So far this season, they have garnered 38 points in 34 games. Their next league match is against 6th placed Barnsley scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, 2021.
Hear the thoughts of @WayneRooney ahead of his side's re-arranged trip to @BarnsleyFC on Wednesday night 🗣
— Derby County (@dcfcofficial) March 8, 2021
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