Manchester United’s all-time highest goalscorer, Wayne Rooney has insisted that the current players of the club are not doing enough to save Ole Gunnar Solskjaer‘s job.
The ex-footballer who is now the coach of Derby County believes that most of the players are not ready to assist the defense despite being paid a lot of money to win games for the club.
Wayne Rooney who made these comments while reacting to Manchester United’s embarrassing 0-5 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, urged the players to question themselves and take responsibility for the club’s poor form.
Recall that on October 24, 2021, Liverpool visited Old Trafford to play a Premier League game against Manchester United, to the dismay of most United’s fans, Liverpool won 5-0.
Liverpool’s winger, Mohamed Salah scored three goals during the game and Cristiano Ronaldo that ought to be United’s best player could not score.
Since the embarrassing defeat, the pressure on Manchester United’s board to sack Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has multiplied but the club’s board is still having faith in the Norwegian tactician.
Recently, there were reports that it was not only the fans of Manchester United that are against coach Solskjaer, some players at the club don’t longer believe in his leadership.
Paul Pogba who was indicted of being one of the anti-Solskjaer players at United, recently came out to stress that it was fake news.
Amid all the reactions and counter-reactions after the 5-0 defeat, Wayne Rooney who was a teammate of Solskjaer at United for three years insisted that it is the players of United that need to do more for the club.
According to the Derby County coach, the players are not putting themselves on the line enough for the club.
“There is a big responsibility on those players”, Wayne Rooney told Sky Sports. “They are world-class players, international players and a club like United need more.
“Those players need to be hurt, need to feel when you lose games how much it hurts you.
“I’m seeing too many players not willing to run back, not willing to defend, and not willing to put everything on the line for that club and that’s not acceptable.”
“The players have to question themselves. It’s too easy for the manager to take all the stick when those players are being paid a lot of money to do the job and I don’t think they’re doing it well enough.”
Wayne Rooney does not want Manchester United to bow to pressures from the media and fan
Manchester United are currently sitting on the 7th spot on the league table with 14 points in 9 games. They have recorded 3 defeats, 2 draws, and four wins under coach Solskjaer’s watch.
The blame for these poor stats is on the shoulders of the coach. Most pundits and the club’s fans believe the Norwegian coach is the club’s problem.
Contrary to such an assumption, Wayne Rooney believes that Solskjaer could lead the club to bounce back because he is a “fighter”.
He also wants the club to stick to the club’s plans and urged the club’s board not to make a decision based on pressure from the media and the club’s fans.
“United are going through a difficult period – a difficult couple of weeks”, Rooney said.
“The Liverpool game wasn’t easy to watch but that’s football.
“Liverpool are a fantastic team, similar to United in world-class players, with probably the best player in the world at the minute in Mo Salah but the big difference is they are working off the ball. That’s the only difference.
“Obviously there’s pressure on Ole – everyone can see that. But I know Ole and he’s a fighter. He’ll keep doing the right things, believing in what he believes in, and trying to get more out of those players.
“Whatever decision the club makes, they’ll feel it’s the right decision.
“What I know is you can’t just bow down to what the press want or what the fans want. I’m sure United have a plan in place whether that’s with or without Ole.
“They will come out and speak on that or make decisions on that at the right time, I’m sure.
“They are very educated people at the top of the club. I’m sure they will be looking at everything to see how they move forward shortly, whether that’s with Ole or without.”
Manchester United players will attempt to redeem themselves when they visit Tottenham Hotspur to play their 10th Premier League game of the season. The game will kick off at 17:30 on Saturday, October 30, 2021.
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