Roy Keane has cited a lack of character in the England dressing room after yet another poor showing at Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate's side drew 0-0 with Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday, with supporters once again venting their frustrations after another sub-par performance. The Three Lions failed to muster a decent shot on goal across the 90 minutes, despite finishing top of Group C overall after three games played.
Citing questions once again from pundits and former pros, ex-Manchester United captain Keane believes England need to show more fight and determination in order to garner some praise from those who have travelled to Germany in support this summer.
- 'I have had enough of that rubbish. I see these boys and I think you're f*cking imposters. Forget the board for a second, who do you start pointing fingers at?' Roy Keane goes on explosive rant over Bruno Fernandes, as Ian Wright challenges him
- 'You can find yourself mocked if you don’t conform to the latest trend. As hardened as I am to criticisms, there’s no way I was going to trawl through social media last summer and read abuse' Sir Gareth Southgate opens up on abuse during England spell
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“I definitely think the modern player seems to be a bit more delicate to criticism," Keane began via ITV Sport on Tuesday. "I judge players by actions. We know how quickly football changes and if England put on a good performance or win tonight.
“Declan Rice is talking about, ‘show some love’. Listen, come on, it’s serious stuff. This is football stuff. People have made huge sacrifices to travel. You get the love back when you perform.”
Rice has been fairly outspoken as of late regarding the nature of criticism lashed England's way, with Southgate's men still undefeated at the top and having now safely booked their place in the next round of qualifying.
"We are top of the group," the Arsenal midfielder began speaking to ITV Sport recently. "We need to stay positive, stay upbeat. Let's have some positivity going into games. Let's give players the best confidence in the world.
"Your players like Phil Foden, [Bukayo] Saka, Jude Bellingham... tell them they're the best players in the world. Make them read that and think: "I'm going to go out there and perform and give it absolutely everything", rather than reading the negative comments, it sitting on their mind and then thinking that they can't play a certain way."
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