English Premier League: We have let Moyes down, says Rooney

Man United striker believes players need to accept blame for team’s poor start.

LONDON: Manchester United’s players have let down new manager David Moyes after making the club’s worst start to a season since 1989, according to striker Wayne Rooney.

The defending champions won 2-1 at Sunderland on Saturday but they have claimed just 10 points from their first seven Premier League games and lie six points below leaders Arsenal in ninth place.

Moyes has come under severe scrutiny since succeeding United great Alex Ferguson as manager but Rooney believes the players need to accept some of the blame for the team’s recent failings.

“Obviously the manager is under a bit of pressure but we know as a team it’s us who have let him down,” he said.

“We have to pull together for the manager and show the sort of fight we have done here (in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Sunderland) and we’ll be fine.

“This will be a transition season because it’s a new manager with different styles and we have to adapt to them. More importantly, we need to do better for him than we have been.”

Moyes gambled by handing 18-year-old winger Adnan Januzaj his first league start at Sunderland and the Belgium-born youngster rewarded his faith by turning the match around with a pair of fine second-half goals.

Rooney believes the decision to play Januzaj was testament to Moyes’s bravery.

“There was big pressure on us but the manager has trusted him (Januzaj) and he has repaid that,” he said. “He’s very confident, that’s great to see. It was a brave move to play him in the circumstances and we’re delighted it’s paid off.”

Hammers thrashing a wake-up call, says Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas admitted Tottenham’s shock 3-0 defeat against West Ham will serve as a major wake-up call to his players.

Villas-Boas’s side paid the price for a lacklustre display as they slumped to just their second Premier League defeat of the season and their first loss against the Hammers at White Hart Lane since April 1999.

After being tipped as potential title contenders following their strong start to the campaign, this was a significant setback for Tottenham.

“It is a defeat, we don’t like it, but it’s a wake-up call and we have to react. I trust the team to do it,” said Villas-Boas.

“It is not for me to speak about the strategy of West Ham. They have done very well defensively this season, but their goals were nothing related to that strategy.

“We were about to go to four strikers to get more firepower, but they managed to score the second. I don’t want to undermine their strategy but I don’t think it surprised us.”

Villas-Boas is adamant the defeat shouldn’t be too discouraging for Spurs and he added, “We can’t undermine what we have been doing until now. The team spirit is good and they will come back in the right frame of mind to bounce back.”

Standings

TEAM             P W GD Pts

Arsenal           7  5   6   16

Liverpool        7  5   6   16

Chelsea          7  4   6   14

Southampton 7  4   5   14

Man City         7  4   9   13

Tottenham     7  4   1   13

Everton           7  3   1   12

Hull City         7  3   -1  11

Man United    7  3   1   10

Aston Villa     7  3   1   10

Newcastle      7  3   -3  10

West Brom     7  2   1    9

West Ham      7  2   2    8

Cardiff            7  2   -2   8

Swansea         7  2   -3   7

Stoke              7  2   -3   7

Fulham           7  2   -4   7

Norwich          7  2   -4   7

Crystal Palace    7   1   -8       3

Sunderland      7              0              -11          1

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2013.

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