Benjamin Sesko abuse over penalty is incredibly harsh but he clearly needs help – Man Utd should bring in Wayne Rooney

THE stick Benjamin Sesko has taken for the Grimsby defeat has been incredibly harsh.

I’m seeing a load of people, not just Manchester United fans, criticising him for taking the tenth penalty in the shootout.

I sort of get it — but that was not him being scared to take one.

He’s a 22-year-old kid in a new country trying to find his feet at a massive club and not wanting to step on anyone’s toes.

He wasn’t brought in for his penalty-taking ability. There’s also a suggestion he had cramp too.

Ruben Amorim would have started him to try to get him up and running, give him an hour and maybe get his first goal.

I know he’s a big-money attacking signing but Sesko only arrived two weeks ago. You can’t be up to speed in that time.

So it’s harsh to suddenly turn around and say, “You should have stepped up sooner and taken a pressure penalty”.

But what he does need is some help and guidance. Who is teaching him how to be a striker for a club like United? None of the current squad can.

No one is saying Sesko is no good and needs to learn the basics — but there are nuances to playing  for such a big club.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Wayne Rooney lives near Carrington. He is there a lot with his son in the academy, why not ask for his help?

It comes down to whether Amorim has that sort of humility to go and ask Rooney.

He could speak to Sesko about how he dealt with moving from Everton to United, his home life, whether he needs help booking restaurants with a bit of privacy.

You could even get Rooney to take a few practices with the forwards, even if it is just for 20 minutes.

Think of the impact he could have showing him some tricks of the trade that made him one of England’s greatest.

I remember being at Watford with Sean Dyche and he once brought in Teddy Sheringham to take five or six of us aside for shooting drills and it was just “wow”.

I never used to take those drills seriously, wasn’t too fussed if I didn’t score every time but Teddy would say: “No, score now and it becomes a habit. Find those corners.

“Every time you shoot, be thinking, ‘This is going in. I’m going to score’. Get used to that sound when the ball hits the net.”

Just little mindset tweaks from a legend of the game. At the time, I was like: “Yeah, all right, I know it all. I’m 21.”

But after a few shots he started f***ing nailing us for it, then you realise why he played at the level he did for so long.

For Rooney to go in there, it would be a quick win, especially when you are trying to fix a culture, to regain who they are.

A few unspectacular games and Sesko has already been dismissed. It is mental.

He will have experienced a massive life-style change, a massive exposure change, followed by cameras wherever you go.

Does Sesko have a house sorted? Is his family all right? Is he getting fed up of being in a hotel, eating hotel food all the time? We need to give him time to get his life in order.

I was speaking to an active player the other day. He asked what I thought about him having a bad season last year.

I said the perception of it is maybe you took too much on and looked a little bit like you thought you’d made it.

He explained how he has two young kids and was trying to be the best dad he could, the best partner he could and was consumed by it all trying to do everything.

So, we don’t know about the s**t that goes on. We just see their performances.

People are comparing Sesko to the start Viktor Gyokeres has made at Arsenal, but you’re comparing a 22-year-old to a 27-year-old who has been at seven clubs.

He knows how best to cope.

I’ve also seen people criticising Amorim for his tactical approach so far this season.

They could have played a 1-9 formation against Grimsby and beaten them if the players had the right attitude, which they didn’t.

These players like Marcus Rashford , Alejandro Garnacho — even Kobbie Mainoo — are constantly saying: ‘It’s not my fault. It’s the manager. I’ll be better when I leave’ .

No you won’t, it’s a character trait, and it still exists in that United squad. I wouldn’t bet on them beating Burnley at Old Trafford on Saturday.