Louis Van Gaal’s time is probably nearing its end at Manchester United. Yesterday it was in the news that Manchester United board is split in two whether the club should appoint Jose Mourinho or not.

Probably anticipating this, Wayne Rooney has come out and spoken to shield their manager. The team has been in a dismal form lately with only solace in the 3-1 win in the FA Cup. The club and the fans are not going over the moon with a win over a second tier club though. After the game, Rooney was spotted saying that the players are to be blamed along with the manager. The England international has scored six goals in last six matches.

Rooney said after the game,

“It’s unfair to say it’s down to the manager — we’re on the pitch,” he said, in comments published by British newspapers on Sunday.

“So the players have to take a lot of responsibility for performances and results. We have to stand up and take criticism when it’s there. We want to win, of course we always want to win, and we’re trying.

“Even when you’re giving 100 percent, it doesn’t always come off and thankfully it did in our last match.”

While Rooney’s appeal is understood, we doubt if the fans will understand that. During the tenure of Sir Alex Fergusson, if the team played badly nobody blamed the manager and unfortunately LVG is unable to command that level of respect at this point.