Manchester United are in a precarious position with apparent discord between players, the manager and the board. There is widespread criticism of all parties involved with different critics presenting their perspective on the iffy situation at Manchester United.
At a time when whispers coming out of Old Trafford seem to suggest that Jose Mourinho has lost the dressing room, Wayne Rooney has come out and said that he was one of the five Manchester United players who was silently tasked with "controlling" the dressing room.
The former United skipper said that egos that would create disjunct and harm the club would not be tolerated in the dressing room.
Speaking to Men in Blazers TV, Rooney said, "That would never be allowed to happen."
"The likes of Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand, myself - players who had Man United in them and wanted the best for that club - would never allow anyone to mess that up.
"We controlled the dressing room ourselves. Alex Ferguson didn't really need to control that. The players had the trust of the manager to do that themselves."
The all-time top scorer for Manchester United also played down the widely believed defensive tactics of current manager Jose Mourinho.
"People talk about our team - especially in relation to Manchester United now - and say it was attack, attack, attack. But we actually weren't," he said.
"A lot of games we played on the counter-attack, drew teams into us and then broke with pace. We did it to Arsenal.
"It wasn't all 'let's just go out and attack' it was a bit more calculated against certain opponents which brought the best out of myself.
"We had the team built to hit teams on the break and we were devastating at it."
Jose Mourinho will certainly need to get his calculations on the mark and expect his team to hit devastatingly on the break as United take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this Saturday – a venue that has been, at best, difficult for the Red Devils, even in their pomp.
But even as Mourinho struggles to make progress with his team on the pitch, the club has shown no signs of stopping off it as they have just announced a new denim deal in collaboration with premium denim brand, True Religion.
This new global partnership with the American denim brand will feature an exclusive co-branded collection of men's and women's jeans, shirts and jackets.
Manchester United's official website quotes True Religion's Chief Marketing Officer, Tara Peyrache, as saying, "We are thrilled to be the official global denim partner for Manchester United. We look forward to this partnership with an iconic club that shares the same values and commitment to performance and quality."
Manchester United's visit to Chelsea on Saturday will be their 181st encounter and is slated to kick off at 12:30 pm BST and 5 pm IST.
