Wayne Rooney's clear nine-word message to Argyle players as he admits 'I've tried everything'

Wayne Rooney lambasted his Plymouth Argyle squad after their 4-0 thrashing at Bristol City – claiming that "they're not representing this club in the right way".

The Championship side were picked apart at Ashton Gate on Saturday (November 30) in their second consecutive away loss of the week, following their 6-1 battering away to Norwich City just days earlier.

The Pilgrims remain without an away win this season while possessing the worst defensive record in the league, having already conceded 38 goals in 18 games under the Manchester United legend.

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Following the game, the 39-year-old discussed his frustration with his team who are in dire straits with one win in their last nine games. "Embarrassed really," Rooney said of the performance his side displayed on Saturday. "That's the right word to use.

"After what happened on Tuesday at Norwich, we came here with a gameplan to try and be in the game, for 50 minutes we were. We concede the first goal and we collapse. It's exactly what happened at Norwich, it's exactly what happened at Leeds. As soon as we concede a goal, the players out there collapse and we look very fragile. It's very frustrating, disappointing."

Rooney was particularly scathing of his players in his post-match comments, going as far to say that they are failing to represent the storied club the right way. "When we're going through this run we're going through with away games, you need to dig deep and find something within you.

"If them players want to have the career you hope they want to have they need to do that very quick because they're not representing this club in the right way.

"I’ve tried going at the players. I’ve tried encouraging and supporting them. I’ve tried everything really so I need to keep trying to find the right balance to fix the away performances."

While Rooney was subjected to fans on social media calling for his head after the latest heavy defeat, there were some who agreed with his comments and urged the players to take responsibility for the poor results.

One X user applauded the head coach and wrote: "Well said Rooney, bang on, the players need to take full accountability, some changes in personnel need to happen and Rooney should remain where he is."

Another seconded that opinion and commented: "Roll on January, some of our squad don't want to be there. The players need to start taking some accountability as well."