- Plymouth suffered a 6-1 defeat away to Norwich after a second half collapse
- Rooney’s side are still yet to win away from home in the league this season
- Liverpool correspondent LEWIS STEELE tells all on bombshell chat with Mo Salah – LISTEN NOW to It’s All Kicking Off! New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Wayne Rooney has slammed his Plymouth side following their 6-1 hammering against Norwich, as he claimed the club’s Under-18 side would have delivered a better performance.
Plymouth suffered their heaviest loss under Rooney at Carrow Road, with a Borja Sainz’s hat-trick helping the hosts to earn a comfortable win.
A strike from Mustapha Bundu had seen Plymouth head into half-time at 2-1 down, but Rooney’s side collapsed after the break.
Shane Duffy, Anis Slimane and Ante Crnac were among the scorers in the second half for the Canaries to add to Rooney’s woes.
The Man United and England legend blasted his side post-match and suggested the club’s under-18 side would not have folded so easily.
‘We were nowhere near good enough – we are down to the bare bones with injuries but that is no excuse,’ Rooney said.
Wayne Rooney suggested Plymouth’s Under-18 side would have performed better at Norwich
Plymouth were beaten 6-1 by Norwich to leave them two points outside of the bottom three
‘But if players want to come in the team and stay in the team then they need to perform better than that.
‘We were fortunate to be only 2-1 down at half-time. You then hope for a reaction in the second half but once they made it 3-1 I thought we went under, which is very disappointing.
‘The players just didn’t look like they thought they could get back in it.
‘I could probably put the under-18 team out there and they wouldn’t concede six goals, so I’m very disappointed, angry, frustrated and the next 24-48 hours are not going to be very nice for the players.
‘But we need to really get to the bottom of why this is happening.’
The result leaves Plymouth two points outside the Championship relegation places, while the club are yet to win away from home this season.
The defeat was another heavy loss on the road with Rooney having also overseen a 4-0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday and a 5-0 reverse against Cardiff.
‘I have praised them a lot this season for their performances at home but away needs to be much better than this,’ Rooney added.
Rooney is yet to lead Plymouth to an away win this season and has suffered heavy defeats
‘We have got to get to the bottom of why it keeps happening – it can’t carry on like this.
‘I feel for the fans who came here because I know the distance they’ve travelled to get behind the players.
‘I know for any fan when you see your team put in that performance and get that result you’re not going to be pleased about it.’
Rooney’s side will go in search of a first away win of the campaign when they face Bristol City on Saturday.
