Allardyce tells Rooney to keep lid on fury
Sam Allardyce warned Wayne Rooney to keep his frustrations private after the midfielder reacted angrily to being subbed in the Merseyside derby.
Rooney was replaced after 57 minutes of the goalless draw at Goodison Park. Allardyce suggested the passing in midfield was “woeful” from his side, and claimed his second-half changes improved his team’s performance.
But Rooney’s fury was visible as he sat on the bench and appeared to be muttering expletives.
“He can say whatever he wants to me in the office but it has to be done between the four walls of the office between me and him,” Allardyce responded.
“He’s an Evertonian through and through and he’s been brought off in a derby game. I’d expect a reaction because that’s how much he cares. That’s fine by me. I wouldn’t expect him to smile and say ‘All right gaffer, well done’. The three substitutions, no matter how disappointed anyone is when they are substituted, made a big impact and almost helped us win the game.
“I understand the ones who get brought off are disappointed but I made those decisions for the benefit of the team and they benefited the team today. Nobody is too big to be hooked.”
Everton should have won in the latter stages against a much-changed Liverpool team. Cenk Tosun and Dominic Calvert-Lewin missed good opportunities, with Allardyce believing the changes in personnel helped his team.
“Our passing sometimes got a bit woeful and that is why we made the changes,” he explained. “Once we sat back in the first part of the second half, it was time for change. We changed Dominic and Gana and then Beni [Baningime] and that gave us the legs and that bit more quality for everyone else to join in with. We started getting Seamus [Coleman] and Leighton [Baines] forward. I think everyone would agree Liverpool were much more pleased when the final whistle went.”
Liverpool were without Mohamed Salah, who is nursing a groin injury, but manager Jurgen Klopp believes the Egyptian will be fit to face Manchester City on Tuesday. Klopp made five changes to his line-up in advance of the Champions League quarter-final.