Wilkins: Rooney must take responsibility

Former Manchester United midfielder Ray Wilkins has warned only Wayne Rooney himself can ultimately be responsible for curbing his suspect temperament.

Rooney hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons again last night when he was sent off in United’s 0-0 draw with Villarreal in the Champions League.

The England striker was cautioned for a clumsy foul on Quique Alvare and then shown a second yellow card after sarcastically applauding referee Kim Milton Nielsen.

Th dismissal came just a week after Rooney had come in for criticism for his erratic behaviour during England’s 1-0 loss to Northern Ireland in Belfast.

“I think we can only say a certain amount of things to him; if the young man’s not going to take it on board himself then we’ve all got a slight problem with him,” warned Wilkins.

“We’re all talking far too much at the moment about his actions in an aggressive manner on the pitch, rather than his football actions.

“As a footballer, we love watching him play, but he’s got to cut that out, and it’s a waste of time.”

Wilkins felt last night’s sending off was particularly galling from United’s point of view as they were enjoying their best period in the match at the time Rooney saw red.

“Wayne has put his team-mates in a real hole just when they looked like they were getting on top,” he added on Sky Sports.

“They had the lion’s share of possession in the second half and I felt they were going to go on and win the game, but Rooney got himself sent off and they’ve ended up having to have a rearguard action against Villarreal when they could have nicked three points and been well on their way.”