Wayne Rooney criticises Plymouth Argyle attacking players after Millwall defeat
Argyle had more of the possession than Millwall at The Den but lost the Championship match 1-0 after having just two shots on target
Wayne Rooney does not believe Plymouth Argyle deserved anything from their 1-0 Championship defeat at Millwall because they
generated far too few scoring opportunities.
The Pilgrims’ manager believed that no attacking player, whether they began the game at The Den or came off the bench, was good
enough. Finally, Romain Esse scored the winning goal in the 13th minute after left-back Bali Mumba made a mistake while in
possession.
Following the 5-0 thrashing at Cardiff City on Saturday, Argyle were much more solid defensively against Millwall, and they got a lot
of the ball but did not take advantage of it. Rooney said, “I thought we started the game well and had some nice control, but then Bali
made a mistake and you’re one-nil down, which gives Millwall something to hold on to.
“Despite having greater possession of the ball, we did not do much with it. We didn’t create enough chances, didn’t take enough shots,
and didn’t cross the ball into the box, therefore I don’t think we deserved anything from the game. It certainly wasn’t as horrible as Cardiff.
On-loan Toulouse winger Ibrahim Cissoko began a three-match ban against Millwall after his red card at Cardiff and Rooney opted to
replace him with Bundu, who had not been on the bench for the previous game.
“Not just for Moose, all the attacking players weren’t good enough,” said Rooney. “We know Moose has got ability, he has got quality
and you make decisions on what you feel is right for the game and that’s what I did.
“For all the attacking players, there was more in them. I’m disappointed with that. We didn’t pass the ball forward crisply enough, we
didn’t play between the lines quick enough, we didn’t get it out wide and get crosses in the box enough, we didn’t get shots off. So
everything I wanted to see really we didn’t do. That’s frustrating.”
Gray made his debut after joining Argyle as a free agent at the start of the month. “Andre is a player who will put his body in, that’s the
type of player he is. He’s slightly different to Ryan and slightly different to Michael (Obafemi).
“It is extremely difficult to win away from home in this league.” I believe one of the games yesterday and today was won away from
home, so we are aware of that.
“We need to start switching results, like tonight; these are games that can go either way, and we keep finding ourselves on the losing
end of it. We need a little more energy and knowledge in the last third. If we have it, maybe things will be a little different.
Rooney went on to say, “We’ve had a really tough few days, obviously with the outcome against Cardiff and tonight. The way the
fixtures have unfolded following the international break, with two away games. I believe a number of clubs have had that, so it is not
ideal, but we haven’t performed well in the two games.
“We are back at home on Saturday (against Preston North End). It’s another difficult game, and we’ll try to score some points, but
away from home, we need to be better and improve.”
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