[Sport] The lads think your training's sh*t' - Former Man Utd and England skipper Rooney explains difficulties of being captain

[The GodFather]

 

 

 

Former Manchester United and England captain Wayne Rooney has revealed he once confronted one of his former managers on behalf of his team-mates to tell him his training sessions were “sh*t” .

 
Rooney has worn the captain’s armband at every club he has played for in his career so far, during spells at Everton, Manchester United, DC United and now Derby.
 
The Liverpool-born forward says he is aware of the responsibility that comes with the role, both on and off the pitch. That includes representing the players and speaking up on their behalf, which one on occasion led to an awkward conversation with his manager. 
 
“When players aren’t happy, they often go to the captain and you end up being the one to present complaints. That can lead to difficult conversations,” Rooney told The Times. “At one club I was asked to go and tell the manager his training sessions were not good enough. That’s not an easy one. 'Excuse me, gaffer. The lads think your training’s shit.'
 
“It can be a lot to take on. You represent the players in meetings over the squad’s charity work and commercial activities. You talk to the PFA. During Covid, what captains have needed more than anything is to be there for their players.”

Rooney succeeded Steven Gerrard as England captain after the 2014 World Cup, leading the team on 23 occasions between 2014 and 2017. He says there are added layers of pressure and scrutiny that come with the role, particularly when dealing with the media. 
 
“Captaining your country is a privilege but a challenge on a different scale to captaining a club,” said Rooney. “ You’re not with your players every day, the off-field commitments are huge — and with England a significant duty is having to help negotiate the players’ commercial payments.
 
“It’s your responsibility to welcome new players and settle them into the squad. I always made sure I hung around the games room and coffee area a lot during the day, so I was there for players — especially new ones — to talk to.
 
"The media duties are more intense. You face the country’s leading journalists — and not all of them think you should be captain.
 
"Some press conferences are tough. In 2015, when France played at Wembley following the Paris attacks, before the pre-match conference I remember sitting in the office with Roy and (FA chief executive) Martin Glenn and disagreeing with the FA’s briefing.
 
"We knew, because of the sensitivities, there would be difficult questions that should be answered carefully and clearly but the FA advised we say the events in Paris were tragic but not for us to talk about. I said, ‘No, we’re all adults, we have to say how we feel.’ We had to speak from the heart. People would have seen through rehearsed answers.