Wayne Rooney Warns Manchester United Team-mates About Defensive Fragility

Wednesday, 3rd October, 2012

Wayne Rooney has warned his Manchester United team-mates that they cannot afford to keep conceding the first goal in games.

The Red Devils fell behind against Romanian side Cluj in the Champions League last night, before fighting back to win 2-1 – and it was the continuation of a very worrying trend.

relatedNewsStory Manchester United have fallen behind to Everton, Fulham, Southampton, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur this season, developments which have instantly put the side under pressure and on occasion led to defeats.

For Rooney, the statistic is concerning and it is one his team must look to put a stop to, and soon.

"Obviously it’s not nice", Rooney told MUTV.

"It’s something we need to make sure we stop doing.

"We can’t keep affording to let teams get a headstart on us, especially in the Champions League when it’s very difficult to win the game anyway.

"We have to make sure we’re more solid than we have been and hopefully we can be in future games."

Rooney and co. now switch their attention back to the Premier League, where they will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s home defeat to Spurs.

Manchester United travel to Newcastle United on Sunday, a game that is often a closely fought affair at St. James’ Park.