Manchester United players need to take ‘responsibility’ on the pitch, says Wayne Rooney (Picture: The Overlap) Wayne Rooney has called on Michael Carrick to take both Luke Shaw and Andrey Santos out of Manchester United’s starting XI following the side’s opening-day defeat to Hull City. Hull produced the major upset of the weekend as Semi Ajayi and debutant Nobel Mendy scored two unanswered goals to ensure Sergej Jakirovic’s side got off to a perfect start on their return to the Premier League. There had been a renewed sense of optimism amongst United’s fanbase heading into the new campaign, but Carrick’s men managed a total of just five shots on target despite finishing the contest with 71 per cent of the possession. The Red Devils return to top-flight action at home to another of the Premier League’s new boys in Ipswich on Sunday and Carrick may well be feeling the pressure at this embryonic stage of the season. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The United manager will not be able to call upon £70million summer arrival Carlos Baleba, who was officially unveiled on Tuesday evening but is currently recovering from ankle ligament damage. It remains to be seen if Carrick will keep faith with his new-look midfield combination of Youri Tielemans and Santos following the pair’s largely underwhelming performances at MKM Stadium. ‘I think players need to take responsibility on the pitch because when you play against a Hull City or Ipswich, the next game, you can set up however you want to set up and a lot of the time it’s decisions,’ club legend Rooney said while dissecting United’s display on The Overlap. Carrick should consider dropping Santos versus Ipswich, says Rooney (Picture: Getty) Rooney wants to see Dorgu switch to left-back (Picture: Getty) ‘You can stop and start training sessions and say, If the ball goes here we have to come across or make sure your winger is in with you”, or whatever that is. ‘But it’s decisions from players on the pitch which make the difference.’ Patrick Dorgu was taken off for Marcus Rashford at the halfway stage as United sought to find a way back into the game against Hull. {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Carrick reflects on disappointing start as Man United lose to Hull","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/08\/22\/3200761093652133798\/480x270_MP4_3200761093652133798.mp4","description":"Press conference with Manchester United manager Michael Carrick following their 2-0 loss to Hull City at the MKM Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.","duration":"T6M44S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/08\/22\/16\/110791853-0-image-m-13_1787413415956.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-08-22T16:42:41+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); But Rooney believes Luke Shaw should be the man sacrificed versus Ipswich, with Dorgu switching from the wing to left-back. ‘I’d change Luke Shaw and I’d play Dorgu at left-back, be a bit more aggressive,’ Rooney – United’s all-time record goalscorer – explained. ‘I don’t think we can rely on him [Shaw] to play all the games so when you’re playing against a newly promoted team at home, I’d play Dorgu at left-back. Carrick cut a frustrated fig
