Wayne Rooney has expressed his dissatisfaction with Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk’s complaints about their kick-off time before their upcoming match against West Ham on Saturday.
Despite having numerous opportunities to score, the Reds suffered a 2-0 defeat to Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s previous visit to Goodison Park resulted in his first loss there, having previously won two matches and drawn five. Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have severely impacted Liverpool’s chances of surpassing their Premier League title rivals.
Currently, Liverpool finds themselves three points behind league leaders Arsenal, who possess a significantly better goal difference. Manchester City, one point behind Liverpool, has the advantage of two games in hand.
Wayne Rooney emphasized that dealing with such situations is part of the job and urged Van Dijk to simply get on with it. Van Dijk did provide an honest assessment of Liverpool’s poor performance, particularly criticizing their display at Goodison Park. However, Rooney was frustrated by his comments regarding kick-off times.
During an interview on Sky Sports, Van Dijk mentioned their upcoming match against West Ham, scheduled to kick off at 12.30pm, stating, “Now it’s time to focus on the 12.30pm kick-off again.”
Prior to revisiting the topic later in the interview, Rooney expressed his thoughts to Sky Sports host Kelly Cates regarding Van Dijk’s remarks about kick-off times. “Now we must gather ourselves and prepare for an early kick-off on Saturday once more.”