Wayne Rooney
Birmingham’s performance in their 3-1 loss to Stoke was dubbed “unacceptable” and “nowhere near good enough” by Wayne Rooney, who questioned his own players’ “personal pride” after the defeat.
The former England captain suffered his seventh defeat at St Andrew’s since taking over in mid-October, as Jordan Thompson, Lynden Gooch, and Andre Vidigal scored before the hour mark to give Steven Schumacher his first win as Stoke manager.
Rooney asserted on Boxing Day evening that he didn’t recognize his team from the one that had taken four points from Cardiff, Leicester, and Plymouth in the previous two weeks, as Birmingham fell to 19th in the table.
‘It’s difficult to put into words against [the performance] to be honest. Because over the last three games, we’ve looked really good as a team and today is unrecognizable. It’s frustrating, and hard to take because I know we have got good players there, so to put a performance in like we did today is really difficult to explain. It’s very frustrating because
“I know we’ve made small steps in the last few weeks but today was nowhere near good enough. I understand the frustration from the fans, that’s on me that’s my responsibility of course. But as a group of players, we need more, we need to give more.” Said the former England captain.
Birmingham’s latest loss comes just days before the January transfer market begins, and Rooney has stated that he is searching for players who can make an immediate impact at St Andrew’s.
