Wayne Rooney should start for Man Utd against Liverpool, says Gary Pallister
Friday 14 October 2016 11:32, UK
Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister has urged Jose Mourinho to “unleash the beast” and restore Wayne Rooney to his starting line-up for Monday’s crunch game against Liverpool.
United travel to Anfield looking to regain momentum in the title race after taking just four points from their past four league games, in a game that will be live on Monday Night Football on Sky Sports 1 HD.
The United captain has enjoyed a miserable few weeks for club and country as he has found himself relegated to the substitutes' bench for both.
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Rooney has not started for United since their 3-1 defeat to Watford on September 18 but Pallister feels the 30-year-old can make an impact if given the chance against Liverpool.
Speaking at the launch of Marathonbet's Manchester United casino, Pallister had this advice for Mourinho: "Unleash the beast. If Jose feels Wayne is ready to come back in for the game, he will be desperate to prove people wrong.
"He has handled it really, really well in the last few weeks and especially in his press conference alongside Gareth [Southgate].
"I think that shows great maturity. I think if that had happened to Wayne when he was 23/24 it would have been a different scenario.
"You would be a fool to write Wayne Rooney off. He is too talented for that."
Pallister is well-placed to speak on what it takes for a United player to make an impact at Anfield as he was the architect of one of Sir Alex Ferguson's most famous wins at the ground.
In April 1997, he scored twice against Liverpool in a match billed the "title decider" in a 3-1 victory for United.
United went on to win the league that season and Pallister admits there are few memories sweeter to him than that one.
"As a footballer, you thrived on that kind of environment - going into the lion's den," Pallister said. "It didn't get much bigger than going to Anfield.
"As much as the manager was surprised, I was doubly surprised. I had never scored two goals in my professional career so to do it in front of the Kop at Anfield in what was a big title decider there as well at the time, it is obviously one of the highlights of my career."
