Wayne Rooney calls on Man Utd's underperforming stars to 'take responsibility'

Manchester United's all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney believes the team's current crop of players need to start taking responsibility for their performances after a disastrous start to the season.

The Red Devils finished third in the Premier League and ended their trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup last term, but they have failed to back up those results so far this season.

United have lost eight of their 15 games in all competitions, and have suffered successive 3-0 losses against Manchester City and Newcastle at Old Trafford this week.

The pressure is mounting on manager Erik ten Hag, and Gary Neville hinted that he could be sacked soon after the side's latest defeat on Wednesday, but Rooney, who recently returned to England to take charge of Birmingham City, feels the players must take their share of the blame and step up to rescue their season.

'That's the job,' Rooney said when asked about the pressure Ten Hag is facing.

'That's part of the job, we all know that when we take jobs. I know coming here [Birmingham City] there is a lot of pressure. I'm sure Ten Hag knows that at Man United.

'It's not going as well as they'd like or would have hoped but the players need to take responsibility. I know some of the players, they're not performing at the levels which I know they have.

'Of course, ultimately it starts and ends with the manager, that's part of being a manager. You'll get the critics after the last few weeks but players can do a lot more.'

Rooney's comments come amid reports that there is resentment simmering inside the United dressing room, with some players perceiving Ten Hag to have favourites within the squad that he continues to protect.

Paul Merson also believes Ten Hag has 'lost the players' after watching the side slump to a one-sided defeat against Newcastle as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup.

Ten Hag has reportedly held one-on-one meetings with his players in a bid to resolve dressing room unrest, but he needs to start getting positive results on the pitch to stay in the Old Trafford dugout.

United are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Fulham, before taking on FC Copenhagen in the Champions League and hosting Luton next weekend in what promises to be a pivotal week in their season.