Wayne Rooney has said that two current Manchester United stars can learn a lesson from a club legend to improve in a key area.
Manchester United enter the November international break in joint fifth place on 18 points, just four behind second-placed rivals Manchester City.
Rúben Amorim’s side has made clear progress since the end of last season, boosted by a strong summer transfer window that overhauled the attack and introduced new first-choice goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
While Benjamin Šeško is still adapting to the pace of the Premier League, experienced additions Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have made an immediate impact. Mbeumo, in particular, has stood out since his move from Brentford, scoring five league goals and claiming the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for October.
In their most recent fixture, they secured a hard-fought point following a last-minute Matthijs de Ligt header after two late Tottenham goals.
Wayne Rooney offers advice to two Man Utd stars
Both Mason Mount and Benjamin Šeško started on the bench against Spurs, with the two coming on in the last 30 minutes of the game, with the latter being forced off in the 90th minute due to injury, with United reduced to ten men for stoppage time.
Speaking on The Wayne Rooney Show, the legendary United forward offered the pair some advice that he learnt from Ole Gunnar Solskjær, considered by many as the best super-sub in Premier League history, scoring 28 goals in all competitions after coming off the bench, including the famous winner in the 1999 Champions League final, which etched his name into United folklore forever.
“As a manager, when you’re making changes, you hope they pay off because obviously, when they do, it’s great, everyone turns round and says it was a great decision. Sometimes they don’t.
“Ole Gunnar Solskjær, I used to speak to Ole about it, and ask him when he was on the bench what did he used to do and he said he used to keep himself really engaged and look at the forwards and the defenders he’s playing against and see where the space is, and see if he can occupy that when he comes on the pitch.
“I think when the players are on the bench, you have to make sure they’re ready and make sure you warm up properly. It’s so difficult as an attacking player, you’re coming onto the pitch and trying, whether you’re chasing a goal or coming on to help defend from the front to keep the 1-0 win, it’s getting your breathing going.
“The first five minutes, you can’t breathe, you’re making long sprints and it’s really difficult to get yourself into the game so that’s why your warmup and preparation before you come on is really important. As a manager, you’re making decisions on what you’re seeing on the pitch, but sometimes it doesn’t always pay off. It’s always a gamble when you change your team because you don’t know if it’s going to work or not.”
A pattern is starting to emerge
In United’s recent fixtures against Brighton and Nottingham Forest, it was the first time in the Premier League that Amorim had used the same team twice in a row since he took over in November of last year.
Since signing, Mbeumo has started every available league game, whereas Cunha has played all but two of the games he has been available for.
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Šeško, on the other hand, has started six and started on the bench in five, while Mount has started five and been substituted on three times. After being substituted on, neither of the pair has registered a goal or an assist in the 189 total substitute minutes they’ve picked up between them.
There is seemingly a clear pattern starting to form in the players that Amorim is happy to start, with two of the three forwards signed in the summer shaping up to be undroppable in Amorim’s setup.
With Mbeumo and Amad set to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations next month, Amorim will be without two of his starting players for around six Premier League fixtures. This presents a perfect time for the bench players to make the most of this opportunity and make more of an impact should they pick up more minutes during AFCON.
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