There is a big “problem” in Ruben Amorim’s locker room, and Roy Keane has been tipped to make a spectacular comeback to Manchester United.
In his first public interview since being fired from United in October of last year, former coach Erik ten Hag stated a few days ago that he had to be lenient with the Carrington team because they were so sensitive to criticism. He acknowledged that a direct and aggressive approach would “demotivate them” and blamed social media for the shift in mental toughness over time.
Adding to the debate, former United defender Mikael Silvestre echoed Ten Hag’s concerns, arguing that many players in today’s game lack the thick skin that was once a staple of professional football. He suggested that bringing back a character like Keane, who is known for his no-nonsense approach, could help the United softies to toughen up.
Speaking to yaysweepstakes.com, former United defender Silvestre stated: “I think it would be great for Roy Keane to play a role at Manchester United. Because, the thing is with Roy, he always treated everybody exactly the same way. It didn’t matter if you were a new signing, an old guy, the manager, everybody. That’s how he got respect. That’s how Sir Alex got respect. If you treat everybody the same, no problem. Now, it’s true you have players, and as soon as you say something to them, they don’t collapse, but it affects them much more. We used to have thicker skin.”
The Frenchman further criticised the current generation of footballers, pointing out how players today tend to dwell on mistakes and seek validation online and went on to refer to Joshua Zirkzee, who apologised on social media after missing a penalty in United’s FA Cup shootout loss to Fulham, despite putting in a solid performance overall.
“Zirkzee apologising on social media about missing his penalty against Fulham. So you missed a penalty – you didn’t kill anybody!” he said. “There is no need for that. Plus, he had a good game, so don’t blame yourself. It happens. I can remember when Paul Scholes missed a penalty in the FA Cup final (2005) and we lost to Arsenal, he was one of the best players of his generation, but he didn’t apologise because that can happen in professional sport. You have to accept it and bounce back. I think it’s a bit of a problem with this generation of players. They find criticism harder to take.”
Silvestre wants club legend Keane to be present in the United dressing room in some capacity as he has a reputation for talking straight and keeping everything in house.
“If Roy Keane was involved at Manchester United, if he was on the inside with the group, he would have to protect and work for the group, you wouldn’t see him criticising players in public, so there wouldn’t be any issue,” he added.
