Roy Keane has described at Erik ten Hag’s comments praising Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s win over Everton as “absolute rubbish”.
Fernandes was praised by his manager for allowing Marcus Rashford to take a second-half penalty in the victory at Goodison Park.
Rashford, who has been short of form and goals this season, duly converted from 12 yards to put Manchester United 2-0 up, with Anthony Martial later adding a third.
The gesture from Fernandes, the regular taker of spot-kicks at the club, was hailed by Ten Hag afterwards.
“You see also how great a captain Bruno is to sense that his team-mate needed that goal,” the Dutch manager explained.
The win continued a good recent run for the Old Trafford club, who sit sixth in the Prmeier League and are just four points behind the Champions League places.
Former Manchester United midfielder Keane believes, though, that Ten Hag’s comments betray the fact that the mentality at his old club has changed, with the Irishman suggesting they are “happy with sixth”.
“He’s giving toffee out there to Bruno for passing on the ball for the penalty. Absolute bloody rubbish,” Keane said on Sky Sports. “[That’s] absolute rubbish coming out with that.
“Manchester United are sixth now – if you went back a few years, if you were sixth you’d be embarrassed. But obviously they seem happy with sixth.
“They have a long way to go. Manchester United have to be competing with the best teams. That’s including Liverpool, [Manchester] City, Arsenal. It’s not been good enough with the talent they’ve got. Look, they’ve got themselves in a nice position but the reason you’re playing for Manchester United is to compete against the top teams.”
The win over Everton was the third in a row in the league for Ten Hag’s side.
The goal should boost the confidence of Rashford, who has been below his best so far in this campaign but remains a key figure.
Fernandes believes his teammate will soon be back to a “world-class” level.
“I felt that Marcus needed a bit of confidence, needed goals,” the Portuguese creator told Sky Sports. “Marcus is an excellent penalty-taker too. I’m 100 per cent sure that he could score the penalty. It’s not about who takes it, it’s about scoring the penalty and Marcus did it perfectly.
“Obviously strikers, wingers, they want to score goals, they need to score goals, that’s part of their game and it gives you a boost. After the penalty, Marcus was unstoppable – he could take on everyone. I think sometimes you need this chance, this opportunity to get confidence back.
“But Marcus has been great for us. Obviously last season he was amazing, so everyone’s expectations for this season were higher. It’s just about getting his goals back and everyone will stay say that he is world-class again.”
Christine Lake is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. With an extensive background in sports journalism, he covers everything from major league championships to grassroots sports events. When she’s not on the field or at the stadium, you’ll find Christine coaching youth sports teams.
