Roy Keane has criticised delicate Arsenal star Declan Rice for demanding positivity from pundits and fans watching England in the Euro 2024 group stage.
Despite failing to fully impress once again in a disappointing 0-0 draw against Slovenia, another blank between Denmark and Serbia in Munich meant Southgate’s men finished on top of Group C with five points from three games.
and supporters for their lethargic performances at Euro 2024 with Southgate also criticised for his tactics and selection decisions.
After their , Rice came out to defend his team-mates and accuse the media of an overly negative reaction to their draw.
Rice told reporters: We’re talking like we’re going out of the tournament here. We’re top of the group, 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. 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 sitting on their mind and then thinking that they can’t play a certain way.
That’s the way I think about it. And I’m sure we have enough of them people as well which is good.
But former Manchester United captain Keane accused Rice and modern players being a bit more delicate than when he was still playing, while he insists they will get the love back when they start putting in good displays.
Keane said before the match against Slovenia: The modern player seems to be a bit more delicate to criticism.
