Former United and England captain, Wayne Rooney faults red devil players for disrespecting Ole Gunnar

Former Manchester United and England Captain, Wayne Rooney has accused the current crop of players of ‘always finding someone to hide behind’ both on and off the pitch and says the squad needs to start fearing their manager.

The Red Devils finished a disappointing campaign without any silverware and failed to get a spot and chance to play in next season’s Champions League after they slumped to a sixth-place finish after recording a poor ending.

Rooney’s former United team-mate Solskjaer has been in charge at Old Trafford since December, initially replacing Jose Mourinho as caretaker manager before being appointed permanent boss in March.

Despite a promising strong start to life under the Norwegian, which saw the club earn 14 wins in 19 games, United’s form suffered a serious dip in the latter stages of the season as they won just two of their final 10 matches and finished five points outside the Premier League’s top four.

And Rooney, who scored 253 goals in 559 appearances for the Red Devils, believes that the squad need to start showing more respect towards Solskjaer and the other members of his coaching staff.

When asked how his old club can turn things around, the former England skipper told The Wayne Rooney Podcast: “I think the players need to fear someone.

“They need to fear Ole Gunnar. They need to fear Michael Carrick. They need to respect them but fear them also.”

“The way the game has gone has changed, society has changed. You have got social media,” continued Rooney, who left Old Trafford in 2017 and now plays MLS side DC United.

“You have got players losing a game and posting something on social media about their new clothing range, their new aftershave, whatever they’re bringing out, which I find remarkable.

“When fans speak up on it and say ‘why are you posting that?’ they always have the marketing people to blame [but] take responsibility.

“They work for you. Those marketing people work for you. I have people who do similar stuff for me and they never do anything without my instructions.

“If that is what you’re doing, you’re sitting at the top of that business. You have to take responsibility for them.

“These players almost always like to find someone to hide behind, whether that is on their social media or on the football pitch and that’s what they are doing.”

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