IS THIS THE END FOR ROONEY?
Jose defends axed skipper but future looks bleak as United kids blitz Leicester
JOSE MOURINHO last night admitted he dropped captain Wayne Rooney so he could inject more pace into his Manchester United team for yesterday’s 4-1 victory against Leicester City.
The gamble to axe Rooney for the first time in three years was vindicated as United swept into a 4-0 lead at half-time against the champions with goals shared between stand-in skipper Chris Smalling, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba, his first for the club.
Though keen to offer 30-year-old Rooney sympathetic words afterwards, the manner in which Mourinho saw Jesse Lingard and Rashford tear Leicester apart, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mata pulling the strings in the middle, made unhappy viewing for the England skipper, who played only seven minutes as a substitute.
‘When our main striker is Zlatan, we need fast people surrounding him,’ said Mourinho, who had lost his two previous league games.
‘If he (Rooney) is on the pitch or at home, he is my captain. But we thought against a team like Leicester, the best solution for us was to play with the two fast kids and Mata in a position where he can interact with them. It did well for us.’
Rooney had been heavily criticised in the build-up to the game. Despite closing in on Sir Bobby Charlton’s all-time goals record for United, he hadn’t scored since the opening weekend against Bournemouth.
Club legend Gary Neville now believes he has to accept a reduced role at the club. ‘His form hasn’t been good and the fact he has been left out is the right call,’ he said.
‘Rooney can have the same end to his career as Ryan Giggs or Paul Scholes. He has to get used to it and accept it.’
Mourinho made four changes after the 3-1 defeat at Watford in their previous league game, Marouane Fellaini, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial joining Rooney on the sidelines, though the Frenchman was injured.
Pogba, who had his best game since his £89million move from Juventus, said: ‘I never look at criticism. I say one thing — at the end (of the season) then we will see.’