Wayne Rooney says he is certain Jose Mourinho will be a hit at the Manchester United, but it does not look possible with the England forward still at the club.
Wayne Rooney has been captain for the United team for some months now and he has been a model of excellence in the role. Sunday, when he led Manchester United out against Arsenal was his second league start since he was replaced in Jose Mourinho’s first team last September. It was a moajor decline in his career but he has refused to nag about it.
In an interview he granted on Wednesday in a press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg with Celta Vigo, he said:“I haven’t thrown my toys out of the pram but I do want to play to help the team.”
Despite having lesser contribution in the first team squad, Rooney insisted that Mourinho would lead United to great heights in the game.
“This club will be successful under Jose Mourinho,” he stated. “If we can win the Europa League then that will be three trophies in his first season. We’re not far away from challenging in the Premier League again.”
While the statement seem to be meant to give support to Mourinho’s management, Rooney may well have a hidden meaning with his use of the word ‘we’. He might stay on at the club for now, but his future at the Old Trafford looks shaky.
If his words about Mourinho comes to pass, he possibly will not be around to celebrate with the club and it was quite obvious that he spoke like a player who have had to hold on by a string and had received no assurances concerning his position within the team for the last two years of his current contract.
“Would I like to stay? I’ve been at this club for 13 years, of course I want to play football. Here? Of course,” he insisted. “Football changes. You have different challenges in your career. I would like to play more but I’ve tried to help the team on and off pitch.”
Football truly changes, and Manchester United are a model of that. The club’s progression have come at a slow pace since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, and Rooney has been a large part of the decline.
Louis van Gaal’s loyalty to the skipper last season was an opportunity for Rooney to work his way back to a new position in the team, but the Dutchman got sacked last summer after his plan backfired and all hopes was lost for the England international
Having been a part of United’s recent loss of form, Rooney would be pleased to see the club reclaim its lost glory and once again become as powerful as they once were. But the truth remains that, as long as he remains at Old Trafford, it cannot happen.
“The more I can play, the better for me and the more I can help the team,” claimed the 31-year-old.
But it is obvious in recent times that the less he plays, the more the team excels. While he remains a goal threat of sorts when given the opportunity, Rooney presence on the pitch reduces United’s pace and makes the game more one-dimensional.
He has lost the pace that stands him out when he was a youth; his first touch is too heavy and too frequent and even his once admirable instinct has gone by him. If United hope to forge ahead under Mourinho and regain their status as one of the best in England, Rooney is the kind of player who could not be making any significant contribution.
In the transfer market in the summer, United will be out for a quality player that could add value to the team play. Rooney is not an option for a side that need such development, and his words on Wednesday made it obvious he know his departure from Old Trafford is drawing nearer.
The young version of Rooney was part of what made United great. He was fearless, powerful and with drive. Now he is just a shadow of what he was and now he is a hindrance to the team’s success under Mourinho, and the player is well aware of that fact himself.