Wayne Rooney has defended under-fire Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, insisting that the players should also shoulder a majority of the blame.
Mourinho has been under the cosh of late, with United having made a woeful start to the season so far. Before the 3-2 comeback against Newcastle last week, the club had made their joint-worst ever start to a Premier League season – the other campaign being the 2013-14 season under David Moyes, who made Rooney the club’s permanent captain.
Poor results amidst a plethora of fall-outs have caused a division in the United camp, and Mourinho was at the center of it all. It is almost as if the press went trick-or-treating and ended up filling all their baskets with goodies without even having to visit another door beyond United’s training ground.
Rather than questioning the players though, all fingers have been pointing at Jose and his ‘third season syndrome’. The reports got incredibly intense, to the point where there were ‘leaked’ reports suggesting the Portuguese would be sacked irrespective of the result against Newcastle.
Having gone 2-0 down against the Toon at half-time at home, Mourinho looked incredibly passionate on the touchline, although one could be forgiven for thinking it was more of a man pleading with his players to save his job.
They did respond and the rest is now history, but rumors of the 55-year-old getting sacked soon haven’t entirely faded away. Many still question his position at the club, and how long he has left before the axe falls on his reign at the club.
Rooney, who spent just one season under Mourinho – his last at United – believes it is very unfair that the manager has been made the scapegoat, and says he thinks the players should step up and hold themselves equally accountable for the club’s early failings this season.
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"“It’s tough [at United], it has been a tough situation,” Rooney said in an interview with The Telegraph. “The players, the manager, it has been a tough start to the season. I know Jose is getting a load of stick but I said a few weeks ago, the players have to stand up.“They have to be counted and they have to be better. The manager can do so much but then it is down to the players on the pitch to produce and probably collectively. It [the poor run of form] is a bit of everything coming together but Jose is an easy target. Some of the players have to be better.“I said the same thing when Louis van Gaal was there. He took a lot of stick but behind closed doors I said to the players, ‘We have to be doing better’. Personally I think he [Van Gaal] set us up brilliantly the way but we didn’t produce on the pitch so I am sure that is getting said behind the scenes.”"
On a personal note, Rooney has made an incredible start to life in the MLS. Having joined what was once the worst side in the league in D.C United, the Englishman’s arrival has had a huge impact on the club’s fortunes and they’re now in contention for a spot in the play-offs.
Rooney has been crucial since signing for the American side, with an incredible tally of 9 goals and 6 assists in 16 appearances so far. At 32 years old, he is proving that he is nowhere near close to being done yet.