Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney believes the players should shoulder the responsibility for the club's lacklustre campaign instead of manager Louis van Gaal.
Rooney, who has six goals in his last six games, has played a big part in helping United to an improved start to 2016, but he believes he and his teammates were equally culpable in a horror month between November and December, which saw United go winless for eight-straight games in all competitions.
"It’s unfair to say it’s [down to] the manager," Rooney said.
"We’re on the pitch, so the players have to take a lot of responsibility for performances and results.
"We have to stand up and take criticism when it’s there. We want to win, of course — we always want to win — and we’re trying. Even when you’re giving 100 per cent, it doesn’t always come off."
"The manager gave us a lot of freedom to go and play and I think you can see the difference in the team," he added.
"You can see we were enjoying it, scoring some good goals and thoroughly deserved to win so hopefully we can put in another performance like this against Stoke [City] on Tuesday."
