Wayne Rooney expressed his frustration with his Plymouth players after their crushing defeat by Norwich, conceding that the club’s U18s team would have performed better.

Since taking over as manager of the Pilgrims in the summer, Manchester United legend Rooney has faced a challenging time in Devon. Plymouth is yet to secure an away win this season, and Tuesday saw it hit a new low during its trip to Norwich.

Borja Sainz’s hat-trick propelled the Canaries to a 6-1 victory at Carrow Road. The Spanish player scored within the first two minutes, and the hosts could have added four more goals within the first 15 minutes.

Sainz doubled their lead after 17 minutes, but Mustapha Bundu managed to reduce the deficit against the run of play shortly before halftime. However, Plymouth fell apart after the break, letting in four goals in the second half.

Shane Duffy netted Norwich’s third goal soon after the restart, followed by Sainz brilliantly curling in his hat-trick goal from the corner of the 18-yard box. Anis Slimane then fired in from the edge of the box before Ante Crnac capitalized on a defensive error to round off the rout eight minutes from the end.

This heavy defeat leaves Rooney’s Plymouth just two points clear of the relegation zone, with three of the four teams below them having games in hand. Despite missing key players like captain Joe Edwards, goalkeeper Connor Hazard, and forwards Ibrahim Cissoko, Morgan Whittaker, and Muhamed Tijani, Rooney was left seething.

Norwich comfortably defeated Rooney's Plymouth

Norwich comfortably defeated Rooney’s Plymouth ( 

Image:

MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“We were nowhere near good enough – we are down to the bare bones with injuries but that is no excuse. But if players want to come in the team and stay in the team then they need to perform better than that,” he fumed.

“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. 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’s men could find themselves in the relegation zone if Portsmouth and Cardiff City win on Wednesday.