Roy Keane slams 'awful' Wayne Rooney and criticises Manchester United captain's 'nonsense' WWE appearance

Rooney has failed to deliver this season, and was far from his best against PSV

James Orr
Thursday 26 November 2015 08:32 GMT
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A downbeat Wayne Rooney during Manchester United's 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven
A downbeat Wayne Rooney during Manchester United's 0-0 draw with PSV Eindhoven (Getty Images)

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Roy Keane has hit out at Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, saying that he "looks awful", and criticised him for taking part at a WWE event earlier this month.

Rooney yet again failed to deliver as United drew 0-0 with PSV Eindhoven, leaving their hopes of qualification from the group stage in jeopardy.

The 30-year-old Rooney has scored just one goal in his last seven appearances for United this season.

"It seemed a strange atmosphere at Old Trafford tonight, they lacked cutting edge," the Republic of Ireland assistant manager said during his role working as a pundit for ITV last night.

"You got the impression the players were waiting for something to happen, rather than going and making it happen. Wayne [Rooney] was on about lack of composure and quality, but I think he was as guilty as anybody. He needs to step up to the plate.

Roy Keane speaking on ITV last night
Roy Keane speaking on ITV last night (ITV)

"You look at Wayne's legacy at Old Trafford, it's absolutely fantastic, his goals record is brilliant. But now he's the captain there's more responsibility and I think he's got to do a lot more."

Rooney threatrically slapped British WWE superstar King Barrett on Monday Night Raw during a segment on the show, which took place in Manchester, an incident that Keane described as "nonsense".

"I always question certain players what are they doing off the field. Last week I saw him slapping a wrestler and I'm thinking 'Why is he getting involved in all that nonsense?' There's no benefit to him. I'd have a look at that side of it.

"It's certainly not helping him. I wouldn't begrudge him going out and enjoying himself, but if you're not at it yourself you've got to have a look and lead by example. He didn't do that tonight. He doesn't look sharp, he looks awful.

"Mentally he doesn't look really sharp, physically he doesn't look in great shape. He needs to have a look at himself."

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