Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has insisted that the players at Old Trafford must take responsibility for their performances under Jose Mourinho this season.
Rooney, who is Manchester United and England’s all-time leading goalscorer, made his final appearance for the Three Lions during their 3-0 win over the USA in a friendly at Wembley on Thursday.
The 33-year-old worked for two seasons under Mourinho at Old Trafford before making the switch to his boyhood club Everton, which was followed by a move to the MLS with DC United this summer.
Rooney insisted that the Manchester United players should take responsibility for their performances on the pitch and help their manager and the team get through difficult situations.
The Englishman also added that the big characters within the squad at Old Trafford should try and lead by example whenever they face an obstacle.
“Jose can do what I know he’ll be doing – he’ll be working with the team and setting them up”, Rooney told the club’s official website.
“But, I think a lot of the responsibility has to go on the players' shoulders.
“They go on the pitch, they have to take that responsibility and they have to thrive on it.
“There will be tough moments throughout games, that is where the big characters have to lead by example on the pitch and almost drag the team through some games.
“You have got players like [Anthony] Martial, [Paul] Pogba, [Marcus] Rashford and [Romelu] Lukaku.
“When games aren't going well, they need to be the players who can just get that goal which wins you the game and calms everyone down.”
Manchester United have endured a disappointing start to the season and are already 12 points behind rivals Manchester City in the Premier League table.
