A former Manchester United player has backed Roy Keane‘s assertion that the club is lacking leaders in the dressing room. The ex-Red Devils captain has frequently criticised current skipper Bruno Fernandes during his time at Old Trafford.
He lashed out at the Portuguese midfielder once again following Ruben Amorim‘s side’s 4-1 Premier League defeat to Newcastle on Sunday. Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Fernandes admitted to getting frustrated with his team-mates because he “knows how good they can be”.
He then urged them to turn their attention to the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash with Lyon on Thursday. However, that wasn’t enough for Fernandes to avoid Keane’s ire after he accused him of speaking in “soundbites” during the interview.
Not for the first time, Keane also questioned the 30-year-old’s leadership skills, claiming there was “no meaning” to his words. His views have now been backed by former United goalkeeper Ben Foster, who played for the club between 2005 and 2010.
Speaking on his ‘Fozcast‘ podcast, Foster slammed United’s players for failing to hold each other to account. The former England and Wrexham shot-stopper also claimed they were more interested in self-preservation than speaking up.
“They’ve got no leaders in that team whatsoever,” Foster said. “Roy Keane said something really interesting after the game. He was talking about Bruno Fernandes and how he’s the mouthpiece of this Man United team.
“He’s the captain and he’s the leader, apparently but he’s just coming out with the same old sound bites. Roy Keane said that if you’re a really good teammate and a real leader, you place demands on the rest of your teammates.
“You expect things from them, you shout at them and you tell them what you need, but I don’t think that anybody in that Man United team is making any demands of anybody else.
“I think everybody is at the point now where confidence is so low and they feel so negatively that they are just looking after themselves.”
Foster’s comments were similar to those Keane made to Sky Sports after Sunday’s defeat. The Irishman’s remarks came after he accused United of being a “physically and mentally weak” team.
“To be fair to Bruno Fernandes he fronts up but to me it’s just soundbites now,” Keane said. “He was talking about his team-mates and belief but what about his right-back Dalot who didn’t put a leg out to tackle?
“I hope he is pulling him in the dressing room because he keeps talking about having belief in his teammates but real good teammates put demands on each other. When I listen to Bruno, I have question marks about his leadership.
“He certainly isn’t getting any help around him, it must be tough playing in that midfield when the expectation is on him because that’s unfair on him. But when he’s doing his chats about supporters and this, to me it’s just soundbites.
“There is no meaning to it. I’m not sure this United group are an honest group. The best players put demands on me. That’s what real good team-mates do. These aren’t team-mates, they are bluffers.”
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