'They’re like babies' – Wayne Rooney lambasts Bruno Fernandes and United squad after Como calamity
· The42WAYNE ROONEY HAS lambasted Manchester United’s squad for acting like “babies” and urged Bruno Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez to look in the mirror.
Fernandes followed Martinez in producing an eye-catching post-match interview on the back of Wednesday’s 4-1 defeat at Como in the Champions League.
The result increased the scrutiny on Michael Carrick, who then faced criticism from Fernandes for the game plan in Italy but Rooney has accused the current United captain and Martinez – who pointed the finger at Jason Wilcox – of being selfish.
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During an appearance on The United Stand podcast, Rooney, who also called for the board to provide clarity regarding Carrick’s future, said: “When Martinez came out, I said this is an absolute nightmare because it will rip the dressing room apart. That was the start.
“We’ve seen it now with Bruno and you’re going to see it with more players. The reason why is because them players don’t want to take responsibility.
“You can say whether Bruno was right or wrong in what he said, but you have to take responsibility on the pitch, you have to take responsibility as a group of players and there were times when me and Sir Alex Ferguson wouldn’t talk, but I’d run through a brick wall for him on the pitch.
“These players, they’re selfish. They care about themselves, they don’t care about their team-mates, don’t care about the manager, about the staff or the fans, they care about themselves.
“If they’re not getting what’s right for them. They’re like babies and just throw their toys out of the pram and go and deflect the blame on to anyone else but themselves. They have to look at themselves.
“Bruno, he’s having probably the worst run of form he’s had since he’s been at the club and again, it’s no coincidence he’s putting pressure on someone else because he doesn’t want to face it.
“If he looks at himself in the mirror, if Martinez looks at himself in the mirror, all the players… they’ll find what is looking back at them is them and it’s not good enough.”
Fernandes is expected to avoid disciplinary action following the United captain’s outburst in Como – and is being supported by the club after a robbery at his house while he was in Italy.
The result against Como, alongside Fernandes’ comments, had raised serious questions about Michael Carrick’s future ahead of Sunday’s Premier League home game against Bournemouth, but the Press Association understands he will remain in charge for that match.