Wayne Rooney has described Plymouth’s 4-0 defeat to Bristol City as a ‘big embarrassment’ and has accused his layers of showing ‘a real lack of character and lack of fight’.
Plymouth were hammered 6-1 by Norwich City at Carrow Road on Tuesday night and Rooney’s side followed that up with another dismal performance on the road on Saturday afternoon.
After a goalless first half, Scott Twine opened the scoring in the 57th minute before Anis Mehmeti struck twice to extend Bristol’s lead. Sinclair Armstrong then struck in the 90th minute to seal the win for the hosts.
The result leaves Plymouth without a win in four Championship games and they now sit 21st in the table, two points above the relegation zone.
‘My reflections from the game at the end is big embarrassment in being honest,’ Rooney said after the game.
‘I know the support the fans have given us. They have come here in numbers, it was the same on Tuesday and the same today. It was very difficult walking over to show our appreciation to the fans and not feel embarrassed.
‘I made the changes to try to keep us in the game and not concede. I felt we did okay with that first half. Second half I could feel Bristol were coming at us a little bit more and I was trying to get Andre [Gray] and Michael [Obafemi] onto the pitch to help us from a different tactical point of view and then, obviously, we concede the first goal.
‘From there the players collapsed. Again, this is not something I haven’t told the players. They completely collapsed. It was the same at Norwich away, it was the same at Leeds away.
‘When you want to have a career in football you need to dig deep at times, and dig deep within yourself. It’s something I have done many times as a player, and I feel the players showed a real lack of character and lack of fight after we conceded the first goal, and that is very disappointing.
‘Of course, we have got injuries and that’s certainly not me making excuses but those players who have come in have all had the game time. I have tried different ways, different systems. I have gone at them, I have tried to encourage them. I have tried to find the right balance between both.
‘Up to now, away from home, nothing is getting through to them. I think the biggest thing is when we concede a goal it looks like the game is over and you are looking at hopefully keeping it down to one goal, which is not a good place to be.
‘I’m talking a lot on the players and I never like doing that but I think it is at a point now where the players need to understand that they need to give more and show more character, more fight, more desire. I have simplified the game as much as I can today for them, to not over complicate things.
‘Ultimately, it’s my responsibility. I take full responsibility for the result. I pick the team, pick the tactics in which we go out into the game, but I think the players are at a stage now where they need to hear it not just in the dressing room but hear from it from outside as well that they have to show more.
‘We have got a duty to this football club to show a pride, a respect, a passion, a fight for this club and the last two games I feel that hasn’t been there.’
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