Wayne Rooney blasts Plymouth side after 6-1 hammering against Norwich

Wayne Rooney has slammed his Plymouth side after their 6-1 win over Norwich as he claimed the club's Under-18s would have put in a better performance.

Plymouth suffered their heaviest defeat under Rooney at Carrow Road, with a hat-trick from Borja Sainz helping the hosts to a comfortable win.

Due to a goal by Mustapha Bundu, Plymouth had gone into halftime 2-1 behind, but Rooney's team collapsed after the break.

Shane Duffy, Anis Slimane and Ante Crnac were among the second-half goalscorers for the Canaries, adding to Rooney's woes.

The Man United and England legend criticized his side after the match and suggested the club's under-18 side would not have folded so easily.

'We weren't nearly good enough; we are down to the bone with injuries but that is no excuse,” Rooney said.

“But if players want to get into the team and stay in the team, they have to perform better than that.

'We were lucky that we were only 2-1 behind at half time. You hope for a response in the second half, but once it became 3-1 I thought we were going down and that is very disappointing.

“The players just didn't look like they thought they could get back into it.

'I could probably put on the under-18 team and they wouldn't concede six goals, so I'm very disappointed, angry and frustrated and the next 24 to 48 hours won't be very fun for the players.

“But we really need to get to the bottom of why this is happening.”

The result leaves Plymouth two points outside the relegation places for the Championship, while the club has yet to win away from home this season.

The defeat was another heavy defeat on the road, with Rooney also overseeing a 4-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday and a 5-0 reverse to Cardiff.

“I've praised them a lot this season for their performances at home, but away has to be much better than this,” Rooney added.

'We need to get to the bottom of why it keeps happening; it can't continue like this.

'I sympathize with the fans who came here because I know the distance they have traveled to get behind the players.

“I know for any fan, if you see your team put in a performance and get that result, you're not going to be happy about it.”

Rooney's side will be looking for a first away win of the season when they play Bristol City on Saturday.