Wayne Rooney backs up Cristiano Ronaldo after pointing blame at Man Utd dressing room

 

Manchester United face Tottenham this weekend, looking to bounce back from their disastrous 5-0 defeat to Liverpool, with pressure building on boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Wayne Rooney has sided with Cristiano Ronaldo and claimed it is Manchester United ’s players, not manager, to blame for their current malaise.

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ’s position has come under intense scrutiny this week after overseeing Sunday’s humiliating 5-0 defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford.

The result means the Red Devils have failed to win any of their last four Premier League games and already face an uphill battle to catch current leaders Chelsea.

READ MORE: Man Utd players' texts to Solskjaer and Ed Woodward after Liverpool defeat

In the aftermath of the defeat, there have been extensive calls for Solskjaer to be relieved of his duties, although decision makers are set to stick with him for this weekend’s trip to Tottenham.

Cristiano Ronaldo said the players must take the blame for the defeat to Liverpool ( 

Image: 

AFP via Getty Images)

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Shortly after the thrashing Ronaldo took to social media and suggested it was his team-mates and them alone, that should shoulder the blame and told them that the time to deliver is now

“Sometimes the result is not the one we fight for,” the 36-year-old wrote on social media. Sometimes the score is not the one we want.

“And this is on us, only on us, because there’s no one else to blame. Our fans were, once again, amazing in their constant support.

“They deserve better than this, much better, and it’s up to us to deliver. The time is now!”

And now Ronaldo’s former Manchester United colleague Rooney has backed up his assessment, claiming a number of Solskjaer’s players are letting him down through a lack of effort on the pitch.

"There is a big responsibility on those players. They are world-class players, international players and a club like United need more," Rooney told the Times.

"Those players need to be hurt, need to feel when you lose games how much it hurts you.

"I’m seeing too many players not willing to run back, not willing to defend and not willing to put everything on the line for that club and that’s not acceptable."

Wayne Rooney took aim at some of Man Utd's underperforming stars

Rooney added: "Are you telling me that’s the manager’s fault or the players’ fault? I don’t know.

"The players have to question themselves. It’s too easy for the manager to take all the stick when those players are being paid a lot of money to do the job and I don’t think they’re doing it well enough."

However, while Rooney has absolved Solskjaer of some of the blame, he claimed that any decision they eventually make on his future will be the correct one.