Everton manager Ronald Koeman has claimed that Wayne Rooney understood the reasons why he was on the bench during the Toffees 1-0 defeat to Burnley on Sunday.
Koeman opted to change his tactics for the match and started with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Oumar Niasse, Gylf Sigurdsson and Nikola Vlasic in attack.
Rooney was only given 30 minutes to try and rescue his side from defeat and they ended up losing. Koeman has revealed that Rooney remained positive after being told that he would start the game on the bench and added that this was probably the case due to the veteran’s love for the club.
He said, “The reason was to change and bring a second striker in. I had to make a decision about one or two midfield positions. I opted for Gylfi and I thought Nikola did well last Thursday on the ball and that was the reason not to start with Wayne.
“He was really positive. He is committed to the team, and to every Evertonian, and he showed that. I explained the situation, that we changed the style of play. Like every professional player, he accepted it.”
