Shearer says: “Rooney will have to sit, be patient and wait for his time to come again”
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After Manchester United’s impressive display against reigning Premier League champions Leicester City last weekend, Coral ambassador Alan Shearer feels Jose Mourinho will stick to the same team for struggling Stoke City’s trip to Old Trafford.
England captain Wayne Rooney was dropped to the bench by the Red Devils boss for the Foxes fixture, and Shearer told our Simon Clare he feels that decision has been vindicated.
Watch Shearer in the video interview blogs below, while we’ve summarised the best quotes from Alan in between:
Man Utd “looked a lot faster and much more dangerous going forward”
“Ultimately, it was the right decision because they got the right result,” Shearer said of Mourinho dropping Rooney. “They looked a lot faster, they scored four goals and were much more dangerous going forward I thought. The pace of their play was a lot better.
“When that happens to you as a player and you get left out, it’s not a nice feeling. It’s pretty embarrassing. You’ve got to look at the result and say, ‘Have I got the right to go and knock on the manager’s door’?
“Rooney hasn’t because the team was a lot better. He’ll have to sit, be patient and wait for his time to come again. When you get into your 30s, if you have a bad game it’s because you’re getting too old or you’ve lost half a yard of pace.
“He can’t say the manager was wrong, because the manager got the right result. He’s just got to sit there and wait for his chance to come again, and it will come again.”
“I don’t think Wayne will be back if everyone is fit”
Shearer also had praise for the likes of Juan Mata, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford, who all impressed in Rooney’s absence. “I don’t think Wayne will be back [in the team],” Shearer continued.
“Mourinho, if everyone is fit, will go in with pretty much the same side that looked so very good in that first-half against Leicester against a struggling side, so you wold expect them to score goals.
“They blew Leicester away really with the pace of the game, so I would very much expect something similar from that team. Mata looked a different player. Rashford looked excellent. Pogba was superb.”
Related
You’ll find more interviews with Alan over in the Shearer says archive.
