Manchester United’s loss to Norwich City at Old Trafford last weekend increased their run of games without a victory in all competitions to SIX, but captain Wayne Rooney has insisted that the players will fight for under-fire manager Louis van Gaal
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has come in for a lot of criticism for the team’s style of play as well as their results of late, prompting the Dutchman to leave his most recent press conference in anger after a short, accusatory monologue directed at the media because of the recent speculation surrounding his potential sacking.
Captain Wayne Rooney sympathised with his manager and admitted that confidence was naturally low after a run of poor results, but insisted that the players would give everything to turn things around.
The Englishman was honest in his appraisal of the situation, acknowledging that the players’ pride is hurt when things are not going well at the club. Speaking to Sky Sports News (via the Guardian), Rooney said: “We havena t won games in the last few weeks so ita s normal confidence will be a bit lower.
“Ita s not nice when youa re getting criticised every game. Ita s tough for the players to deal with. We get hurt because wea re proud people and proud to play for Manchester United. When ita s not going right ita s hard to take and frustrating.”
The 30-year-old also sympathised with his manager, revealing that speculation in the media can be difficult for family members to deal with. “We all have families and sometimes therea s a lot of stuff that gets written which is not nice for your family to see,a added Rooney.
“Ita s OK for me to deal with but therea s people in my family who arena t used to it and ita s tough for them.
“Obviously you have a lot of people talking about things they believe are happening but in reality a lot of people who are writing that stuff dona t know whata s happening.”
Show of unity does not count for much unless results change
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Although Manchester United fans may be heartened to hear such positive words from Rooney, they need only look at Chelsea FC and their situation to realise that words in the media count for little unless results change.
The Red Devils’ situation is clearly not as bad as the Blues, but manager Louis van Gaal needs to buck the recent trend of results as soon as possible if he wants to remain in the job for the duration of the season. United have now dropped out of the top four, and if poor performances continue, it is not inconceivable that the Glazers will pull the plug on the former FC Barcelona manager and opt for someone else — even midway through the season.