Wayne Rooney Believes Opponents No Longer Fear Playing At Old Trafford While David Moyes Takes Blame For Man City Defeat

Following a 3-0 loss in the Manchester Derby, Manchester United remains significantly out of contention for a top four finish in the Barclays Premier League, a goal instilled within the club so United would be able to participate in the 2014-2015 UEFA Champions League upon qualification. While the defending BPL champion’s struggles in league play this season have been well documented, poor play on their home ground at Old Trafford has not been an easy pill to swallow. Tuesday’s shutout loss to Manchester City was the sixth home defeat of the season, a poor statistic that hasn’t appeared since the Red Devils dropped six in 1978 and something that is highly unacceptable.

“It’s not good enough,” United forward Wayne Rooney said after the loss. “We can’t lose six home games in a season and we have to put that right, and make this a place which teams fear again. Our fans were great again. As a team, we need them to be strong and to understand there has been a big change at the club. We have to step up and start giving the fans something to cheer about with some good performances and wins. It's a bad night and we didn't deserve to win. We weren't clinical enough and we didn't create enough chances. No one likes to lose a derby game. They're big games and they're great to win, but when you lose it's not a great feeling.”

While Rooney remains frustrated -- even with Manchester United recently advancing to the Champions League Quarterfinals -- first-year boss David Moyes attempted to shoulder the blame from the Man City loss away from his players. The former Everton coach has been under significant pressure since taking over for legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson this summer and while his future at Old Trafford remains in doubt, the Man U coach continues to stay positive and says his club should aspire to play at the level of Manchester City.

“I take responsibility,” Moyes said. “I have to be the one who plays them, picks them and that is what it is. I don’t think tonight was in any way a lack of effort or lack of commitment from the players, in fact I thought they were fully there but in some areas we didn’t come up to scratch. We never started well. We never gave ourselves a great opportunity to get into the game.

“Manchester City started really fast and conceding a goal after 30 or 40 seconds made it difficult,” he continued. “Everyone knows this is going to be a job which is going to take a little bit of time to get the way we would like it but that is the job and I recognize that. I think we played a very good side. And it is the standard we need to try and aspire to get to at this moment in time.”