Roy Keane heavily criticised Declan Rice’s performance prior to England’s final Euro 2020 qualifier.
Keane was a bit harsh in his assessment of Rice when he claimed on iTV (4:20 pm, 17/11) that he had ‘played his way out of the team.’
That definitely didn’t sit well with West Ham fans who hit back at Keane for his comments and co-owner David Gold backed his supporters.
He said: “Keane needs to get over it. Declan made his choice and I think that is what’s behind it as far as Keane is concerned. It’s pretty shameful when a former professional talks the way he did about a young man. It was low, outrageous unfair and arrogant to pick him out of all the England players. Declan has chosen to play for England and Roy Keane needs to get over that.”
Rice choosing England over Ireland could well have struck a nerve with Keane who was the assistant manager when the youngster broke onto the scene.
The former Manchester United skipper has seen Rice develop for a long time now and there might be some truth in his statements.
West Ham are currently stuck in 16th place in the league table and, although that isn’t entirely Rice’s fault, he has been a part of the reason why the club have struggled this season. Rice clearly needs to up his game in the coming weeks but people also need to realise that he is still only 20.
With more experience under his belt, there is no doubt that Rice will improve. With games against Tottenham, Chelsea, Wolves, Arsenal and Liverpool coming up in the next six weeks, there is no better time for Rice to silence his doubters.
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