Wayne Rooney Is Still the ‘Main Man’ at Old Trafford

It rewarded an influential display by the Spaniard in the No. 10 role as he was recalled to the side, having been dropped to the bench for the league defeats against Manchester City and Watford. But by then the game was long over as a contest.

Juan Mata doubled the lead in the 37th minute after which Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford added to Leicester’s woes before the break. Two more Leicester substitutes combined for what should have been a second goal but Andy King produced a tame shot from a Jeff Schlupp cross and De Gea saved easily.

Saturday’s game against Leicester was the first time Rooney has been dropped by Mourinho since he took over at the club.

“My captain is my captain if he is on the pitch or at home”. Neville insisted that “they will have to build up the trust to Mourinho, to us and the crowd that they are good enough for big games”.

Asked if Rooney appeared down when he was told, Smalling replied: “No”. “You can only pick 11 men”. You prefer always to ask why somebody is not playing.

“Shaw and Mkhitaryan? I wouldn’t say they are injured”.

“I think it will do him the world of good, just as it did for me”.

The England worldwide reportedly had strong words for his teammates after United’s poor first-half display against Manchester City in the derby, with some reports suggesting some of the Red Devils’ stars clashed in the dressing room.

The Red Devils will now host City at Old Trafford once again in the fourth round of the League Cup.

Following this weekend’s match against the Potters, United take on Liverpool, Fenerbahce, Chelsea and Manchester City in the space of nine gruelling days.

The Sunday Mirror claims Leicester will demand Schneiderlin as part of any deal for Drinkwater who is rated in the £20-30million price bracket. Even the decision to play Rooney for the full 90 minutes against Northampton in midweek could be seen as facilitating this move.

Rooney was left out of United’s 4-1 victory on Saturday as players such as Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic thrived in the captain’s absence.

United signed the France worldwide for a world-record transfer fee of £89million following a summer of intense negotiations.

“All the facets of what would be an all-round midfield player, he’s one of those rare midfield players who can do most things, and today we saw a big influence on the game”.

Clearly, Mourinho was able to tactically sort out some of the problems United had been experiencing over the past week and a half, and Pogba’s positive individual performance against Leicester will certainly be another step forward for him.