Wayne Rooney delivered a scathing assessment of Manchester United players, stating he would love to walk into the dressing room and put a firework up their a*** following an eight-game winless streak.
United suffered a 4-1 defeat against Como last week and were subsequently pelted by their own fans after a 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday. This poor run of eight straight winless games has put Michael Carrick in danger of losing his job.
The club record goal-scorer launched his rant on Stick to United, declaring that the players have no leg to stand on. Rooney said, 'I was a player who could score a goal and had a bit of ability or whatever, but at least I f***ing ran and worked hard and put myself about for the team, even when it's going tough. These players are not doing that.'
He continued, 'I'd love to walk into that dressing room and f***ing sit them all down and say, 'What the f*** are you doing? What type of performance do you think this is? Do you think you deserve to wear that shirt with how you're walking round the pitch?' Put a f***ing firework up their a*** because they're f****ing not doing anything.'
Under Rooney's former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, United operated as a gritty side with strict discipline. In contrast, Carrick has struggled to command the same authority, while captain Bruno Fernandes publicly criticized his tactics after the Como thrashing. Fernandes was subsequently benched for the Bournemouth match, yet Carrick still failed to spark a reaction from the squad.
Rooney added, 'Football is a game of emotions. Now we're seeing players who are numb who look like they've got no emotions, like they don't care. Some of them might care, there might be some good lads in there, but they're getting dragged down.'
