A furious Wayne Rooney tells his Birmingham City players to ‘grow a pair of balls’ after his side’s dire draw against Rotherham United.
His press conference was quite something according to reports after the Blues failed to score on Saturday, finishing 0-0 with owner Tom Wagner and investor Tom Brady watching on having, who travelled over from the US.
The result means that Rooney has now won just one of his eight games since he arrived at the club, leaving them 15th in the Championship table, 7 points above the drop zone and 10 points clear of Rotherham who sit 23rd.
Rooney said, as per Birmingham Mail: “I think some players in there need to grow a pair of balls, basically, because I’m watching what they do in training and the minute there is fans out there they become a different player, a different person,” said Rooney. “That is football. You are going to have to play in front of fans, wherever you play.
“It is okay doing things on the training pitch but you have to take that into the games. We are still a young team but then the leaders in the team… that’s where Jukey (Jutkiewicz) has been brilliant. He is frustrated he doesn’t play all the games but you can see he is a leader, he is talking in there.
“But there are some players who have got enough experience to stand up and be leaders. They are trying but it’s silly errors, decision-making. Game management is a big part of the game we need to improve on.
“I’m completely different as a manager to what I was as a player. You might see me on the side-lines quite calm. But the players know exactly what I expect of them, and if they are not doing it, they won’t play.
“And by not playing, they won’t be at this football club. We will get different players in. The players are very aware of what I want from them and the expectations I have of them, my own expectations as well, so we are all aware of that.
“We are trying to get better, we will get better, I have no doubts about that, but it is important the players know and understand like today when it’s not good enough. That is my responsibility. I have to make sure they are better than they were today so hopefully today was a one-off.”
🎙️🔵⚪️ | Wayne Rooney on having Birmingham City’s owners including Tom Brady in attendance for last nights game:
— Everything England 🏴 (@TheEngllshGame) December 3, 2023
Speaking to BluesTV post-match, Rooney talked about wanting to see more from his side after a positive start and felt they lacked quality in their overall play.
“Really disappointed and frustrated because when you look at the players I put out on the pitch and what I am asking them to do, for 20-25 minutes I thought we were really good and caused Rotherham problems.
“Then, for whatever reason, we take our foot off the pedal, we become complacent and sloppy and in the end should have lost the game. It is nowhere near good enough.
“You are playing this game to score goals, so when you get an opportunity and you’re in space, the weight of the pass or the decision making is costing us way too many times. The performance today was nowhere near good enough.
“When you are playing against a team who are sitting back, we have to move the ball with a quick tempo and be patient. It wasn’t and it allowed them to get back into their shape and we then didn’t move them.”
Rotherham United interim manager Wayne Carlisle said: “I’m delighted with the way the boys went about their business today although it is tinged with a little bit of disappointment because we should have come away with the three points. People may have said in the past we’ve been a little bit of a soft touch away from home, but we certainly weren’t that today.
“It was the same formation that we’ve been playing (4-2-3-1). There was no difference in it. The difference was the mindset and mentality. It’s hard to single out individuals. The whole team and the players who came onto the pitch were a credit to themselves.
“The game was what Rotherham United look like at their best. We were like that against Leeds and we were like that again today. The trade off it is hard to do it back to back with the squad with how it is at the minute.
“I’m looking forward to Swansea. That is a big game for us. It’s definitely a winnable game for us, especially at home. I think we, the players and the fans have to take confidence from today and if we go about it right and have the energy in the team, we can stand up to it.”
This is how fans reacted after furious Wayne Rooney tells his Birmingham players to ‘grow a pair of balls’ after the 0-0 draw with Rotherham…
@carroll_fla: Maybe hit them with that comment in the privacy of the dressing room after a defeat, going public is going to lose him that dressing room, man management skills are needed not a public humiliation
@eff_tee_emm: He won’t make it to Easter. Crazy appointment
@baggiedave70: Bad workman blames his tools springs to mind
@ebeneezer1979:
They were ok before he showed up
I’ll give him till Jan
@JLH5464: Mental how the same players were in playoffs before he was there and he still blames them ahahahahaha
@Philip_RJ89: Can we now accept that none of the ‘Golden Generation’ are elite managerial material? Gerrard’s coaching in front of 200 fans per game, Lampard’s best known for his ability to change facial expression in a second, and now this from Rooney. Great players. Atrocious bosses.
@brookylufc93: Got to be one of strangest sackings/hires I’ve ever seen 😂
@darthgardiner: Ahhhhh yes blaming the players is always a sure fire way to get them on your side, and not a reflection of your poor managerial skills, these same players were doing very well before Wayne came in, it’s not them it’s you.
@ultijutsu: crazy cus under eustace they played perfectly on the pitch. almost like ur the problem
@mrcraigmoore1: He’s really not helping himself 🤦♂️ The same group of players were over achieving under Eustace so they have absolutely no problem playing in front of fans
@mattieshaw97: I’m sure that’ll inspire confidence.
@BraddersKitch16: They were playing fine before he came in 😂
@KieranBcfc89: Lost the dressing room (If he ever actually had It). Proving himself to be a terrible man manager. Hopefully the board/owners see him for what he Is sooner rather than later
@MrBrightside_32: Everyone else’s fault but his! Throwing players under the bus will do wonders for having them unite behind him! The sooner he’s binned off the better… JE never had aired issues he just dealt with them. Rooney is out his depth & is aiming the blame elsewhere
@AnarchoKyle: In 5 months Blues have overhauled the squad, built a positive relationship between them, staff, and supporters, play pragmatically and sit comfortably in the top half, only to sack the manager, hire a big name, divide supporters, deride the players, and slide down the table. Wild.
@IMRMEZZI: Anyone told him throwing players under the bus is likely to get worse performances and he ain’t going to be able to change all of them come January
@Alanfrancis2812: Not exactly great leadership to criticise your players in public. It’s up to Rooney to organise, motivate and get results from the players. Sounds like he’s trying to protect his job in front of the owners and score points.
@Jak_Collier: Dangerous territory this! He’ll either lose the players completely and he’ll be a goner or it’ll just get horrible in the ground where the board can’t really avoid making the decision
@DarkoSats: Throwing players under the bus works when you have a good reputation and you’ve been successful before (Conte, Mourinho comes to mind) but Rooney has proven twice he’s a poor manager and now it looks like it’ll be a third time he shows he’s out of his depth
@WStand13:
Erm… He’s already blaming the players.
He can’t coach
He can’t man manage
He can’t empathise with players……
He’s not able to speak to people…
Blues going down..
Sack him..
@9_Hendo: Arrogance off the scale when he’s a failed manager in his two previous roles to date and making a strong case for a third failure here. Great player, garbage manager. Like so many of his former England colleagues it seems of that era… Get him gone.
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