Match of the Day pundit Wayne Rooney has delivered a blunt question about the current crop of players at his former club to fans of his podcast in the latest episode of The Wayne Rooney Show, following their weekend FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton under temporary manager Darren Fletcher – quite simply “are they good enough”?
Rooney was chatting to his younger brother brother, Macclesfield FC manager, and FA Cup exit man-of-the-moment John, alongside sports broadcaster Kelly Somers and comedian / passionate football fan Kae Kurd when he wondered aloud: “Strange. It was coming wasn’t it? I was trying to hold back a little bit last week because I didn’t want to go too strong. But it was coming and with Ruben getting the sack, Darren Fletcher has come in the last two games and it’s probably not what he would have wanted with the draw and losing to Brighton. A difficult moment and the next week is going to be a huge week for the football club.
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“The players need to take responsibility. That’s Ruben Amorim, that’s Ten Hag and managers before them. At the end of the day, when a manager gets sacked players say ‘I didn’t like that manager’ and they get a fresh start. These players are not performing and ultimately that ends with the manager getting sacked. I’m not saying they downed tools, but the question is are they good enough to take Manchester United into the Champions League places or to win trophies? I do think some players can perform better than they have.
“It’s going to take something miraculous to turn it around and try and be successful this season. At the minute it’s flat. Fletcher is doing everything to try and keep it in place until they appoint someone. I just hope they can find some stability.”
Elsewhere, Rooney discusses mooted candidates Jamie Carrick and Ole Gunner-Solskjaer as interim United boss, reveals if he could be tempted to join the club’s backroom staff, and of course chats to his brother about Macclesfield’s FA Cup upset, knocking out Premier League side Crystal Palace – a team a record-breaking 117 league places above his National League minnows.
Watch The Wayne Rooney Show on BBC Sport, 5 Live, YouTube & iPlayer, listen on BBC Sounds, with new episodes every Friday and Monday.