London: Former England and Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney stated the job of a captain just doesn’t mean leading the team on the field but also includes helping his players off the field. He also spoke about the difficulties that comes along with the high-profile job.
Rooney stated that as a captain, players look up to you and expect you to be their voice in tough situations and sometimes it creates problems for the skipper itself.
When players aren’t happy, they often go to the captain and you end up being the one to present complaints. That can lead to difficult conversations, Rooney told The Times.
At one club I was asked to go and tell the manager his training sessions were not good enough. That’s not an easy one. ‘Excuse me, gaffer. The lads think your training’s s***.’
It can be a lot to take on. You represent the players in meetings over the squad’s charity work and commercial activities. You talk to the PFA. During Covid, what captains have needed more than anything is to be there for their players.’
Rooney has led some high profile teams during the course of his illustrious career. Apart from being the national skipper, he also led Manchester United, Everton, DC United and now is at the helm at Derby County.
Rooney took over England’s captaincy after Steve Gerard in 2014 and wore the armband 23 times till 2017. He also spoke about the scrutiny that tags along with being the leader of the national side.
Captaining your country is a privilege but a challenge on a different scale to captaining a club, Rooney said.
You’re not with your players every day, the off-field commitments are huge — and with England a significant duty is having to help negotiate the players’ commercial payments.
It’s your responsibility to welcome new players and settle them into the squad. I always made sure I hung around the games room and coffee area a lot during the day, so I was there for players — especially new ones — to talk to.
The media duties are more intense. You face the country’s leading journalists — and not all of them think you should be captain, he added.