Paper Round: Jose Mourinho fears for Wayne Rooney's mental strength

The Sun lead with ‘WRECKED’ on their back page as the fallout from Wayne Rooney’s drinking last weekend has yet to dissipate. Mourinho has defended his player, and pointed out that he is vulnerable to criticism, saying: “Even if you build a wall around them ,to try to feel protected from people write or think about you, the wall always has points of fragility. It always has some little holes.”

Paper Round’s view: Mourinho is not going to go through the hassle of admonishing his captain, who is popular in the dressing room, and give critics of United an advantage. He can criticise Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling, because selling them is no great problem. To sell Rooney will take time and patience, so Mourinho might as well defend him in front of the press now, and wait until the summer to remove him.

The Daily Mirror have a story in defence of Wayne Rooney. The story claims that Rooney stayed in at the hotel, when 12 other England players went out to party. The rest of the squad feels that Rooney has had unfair treatment at the hands of the press, as does Rooney. The account in the paper also says that Rooney only went back to the wedding to please guests who wanted pictures and selfies with the group.

Paper Round’s view: It’s worth taking the story with a pinch of salt, given we don’t know how true any of it is. However, if it is true, then Rooney has nobody to blame but himself: nobody made him drink, nobody made him stay up so late, and nobody forced him to accept any invitations. The players who feel he has been harshly treated are completely missing the point: if they were similarly self-indulgent, but just happen not to have been caught this time, then it explains a) why the England team is so bad and b) why Rooney remains such a popular figure.

The Telegraph are concerned for Andy Murray’s ATP challenge. His first two matches had been scrappy wins, but he then demolished Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-2. It means that he will avoid Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, and will play Kei Nishikori instead.

Paper Round’s view: Murray might be the world number one, but there will be a suspicion that, if he doesn’t defeat Djokovic, or at least win the title on Sunday, that his time at number one will be too transitory to mean a great deal. Murray has been unfortunate to be around at the same time as Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, but he must win the ATP final, or some major titles, soon if he isn’t going to be the forgotten man of the four.

In an interview in the Guardian, Chelsea forward Eden Hazard said that, ‘If I ever leave, it’ll be after winning a championship. You need to go out on a high so that people remember you for the right reasons.’ He also praises his new boss, Antonio Conte, for his inspiring methods, and mentions that this season he is no longer playing with pain in his hip, or any niggling injuries.

Paper Round’s view: Hazard has done well to improve from the miserable lows of last season, and perhaps much of it is to do with a return to full fitness as much as it is a new manager. Whatever the cause, Chelsea fans will have mixed feelings over the idea that he would consider leaving when they have won a title. That could be as soon as the summer, and there are no teams that he would not improve. Real Madrid need a new star, but he could also be the eventual replacement for Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, or Arjen Robben at other clubs.