Cape Town - Everton manager Sam Allardyce will hold talks with Wayne Rooney after the former Manchester United captain reacted furiously to being substituted in the Merseyside derby.
Rooney was taken off after just 57 minutes of last weekend’s stalemate against Liverpool and was clearly unimpressed by the decision after muttering to himself on the bench.
Allardyce felt the substitution gave the hosts more verve on the pitch, while insisting that the 31-year-old had performed the task he was given.
"We needed more legs, and as talented as Wayne is and as good as he is on the ball, we needed to get about the pitch a bit more, and he'd done his job," Big Sam told Sky Sports.
"Idrissa has got himself fit again, but not fit to start, so he was always going to get at least 30 minutes today, and we know how much energy he has got. That gave us a bit more impetus in midfield, and also creativity going forward.
Allardyce understands the 32-year-old’s frustration, and will take him to one side this week in order to ensure there is no resentment at the situation.
"Wayne's disappointment was frustration at the fact of being an Evertonian through and through," Allardyce told talkSPORT.
"He's been an Evertonian all his life, he made his debut for Everton when he was 16, he was playing in a great big derby match against Liverpool on his own park and he got substituted by the manager.
"That was too much for him to take and he had to show his frustration. We'll sit down in the next week and we'll talk it through and we'll see how he feels. I'm sure he's calmed down a little bit now."