Wayne Rooney hated what he saw from his players against Norwich (Picture: Getty Images)
Wayne Rooney was left fuming with his Plymouth players after a 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Norwich, saying the Under-18s would have done better.
The Pilgrims took a battering at Carrow Road on Tuesday night, with the Canaries struggling for form before the contest but finding it in style.
The loss left Plymouth 20th in the Championship table, two points clear of the relegation zone, and their manager could scarcely believe what he has seen from his team.
The Manchester United and England legend said his players can expect some unpleasant training sessions to come after the thrashing as Rooney insisted he would expect more from his youth team.
‘We were nowhere near good enough – we are down to the bare bones with injuries but that is no excuse,’ he said.
‘But if players want to come in the team and stay in the team then they need to perform better than that.
‘I could probably put the under-18 team out there and they wouldn’t concede six goals, so I’m very disappointed, angry, frustrated and the next 24-48 hours are not going to be very nice for the players, but we need to get to the bottom of why this is happening.’
Borja Sainz scored a hat-trick for Norwich in the dominant win (Picture: Getty Images)
He added: ‘Getting that win and better results away from home – we know it’s difficult in this league for teams to win away from home – but we have to be a lot better than we were tonight.
‘I feel for the fans who came here because I know the distance they’ve travelled to get behind the players and I know for any fan when you see your team put in that performance and get that result you’re not going to be pleased about it.
‘I’m dealing with it, I’m trying to get to the bottom of why every now and again we’re having these results and hopefully I can do that sooner rather than later.’
Rooney and his Plymouth side have the chance to cheer their fans up on Saturday when they go to Bristol City in the Championship.
Johannes Hoff Thorup took over at Norwich over the summer (Picture: Getty Images)
Norwich boss Johannes Hoff Thorup was obviously a lot happier than Rooney, but not entirely thrilled.
‘We could have done better in so many ways, but that’s the environment we are trying to create here – of course it’s good to win a home match 6-1, but it’s not everything,’ Thorup told BBC Radio Norfolk.
‘We have to look at how we can improve and the most important areas and aspects of the game where we have to be better, that’s the mindset. I celebrated for two and a half minutes, now we are on to the next one.’