Man Utd: Rooney reaches Bruno Fernandes drop verdict as Red Devils hero brands him a ‘selfish baby’

· Football365

Wayne Rooney has branded Bruno Fernandes a “selfish baby” as the Man Utd legend told Michael Carrick to do with his skipper after he hit out at his tactics.

Wayne Rooney has branded Bruno Fernandes a “selfish baby” as the Manchester United legend told Michael Carrick to do with his skipper after he hit out at his tactics.

Fernandes broke ranks after the Red Devils’ embarrassing 4-1 defeat to Como on Wednesday.

Fernandes said:

> “It’s a decision from the staff to not press man to man and sometimes leave space behind and try to get the ball, wait for them, but sometimes when you give space to these teams they get confidence.”

On whether he is saying Michael Carrick got his tactics wrong:

> “That’s on the manager and staff to see, not me. Sometimes you have to be more brave under pressure, take the risk of pressing high and making them uncomfortable. As you saw with them [Como], the centre-back was coming to mark me in my own half. We need to do that as a team but we were unable to.

> “A team that plays through the middle with small connections, if you give them too much time and space then they can hurt you out wide.”

And after admitting his side’s performance was “unacceptable” in his post-match interview, Carrick told reporters in his press conference that Fernandes’ comments weren’t accurate, before taking aim at his players for “not running”.

And Rooney has advised Carrick to tell Fernandes to “go on holiday” in order to recharge his batteries and “take him out of the firing line”.

> “I think it’s at a point now where he might need a little break,” Rooney said on The United Stand.

> “He might need the manager to tell him to go on a little holiday because he had a long season and then a long World Cup.

> “He might need to go away and recharge the batteries because he’s played a lot of games and he doesn’t look like he’s got that sharpness or that bite about him.

> “I remember Alex Ferguson did that with Cristiano Ronaldo. At random times Ronaldo would go and have a week off and we’d all be standing around wondering why. But he would be recharging his batteries, I think Bruno needs that.

> “He needs to be taken out of the limelight a bit and come back fresher, otherwise he will just be running himself into the ground.

> “That will only make him more agitated and frustrated and then we won’t see the best of him.

> “Just to settle him down and let him get a rest and get his legs back a bit, go and take a week holiday and take him out of the firing line.”

Rooney was in “disbelief” at his former side’s performance against Como and branded Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez – who hit out at technical director Jason Wilcox last week – “babies”.

> “When Martinez came out, I said this is an absolute nightmare because it will rip the dressing room apart,” the former England captain added.

> “That was the start. We’ve seen it now with Bruno and you’re going to see it with more players because they 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.

> “These players, they’re selfish. They don’t care about their team-mates, don’t care about the manager, 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.”

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