Manchester United Tottenham Fernandes Matic 2020Getty

'I don’t see any leaders out there' - Keane questions character of Man Utd squad

Roy Kane has slammed the lack of leaders in the Manchester United side and questioned the players' attitude following their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal  at Old Trafford on Sunday.

United are winless at home in the Premier League this season after their tepid loss to the Gunners – the north London side's first victory at Old Trafford since 2006 in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's 100th game as manager.

The defeat has left them languishing down in 15th place and former United captain Keane, working as a pundit on Sky Sports, gave a brutal and passionate assessment of their display, lambasting the lack of fight shown by the players.

Article continues below

The former Republic of Ireland international said United did not have anyone on the pitch who could "get in somebody’s face, smash somebody".

He said: "You're playing at United because you're expected to break these teams down, you’re expected to run back, you're expected to roll your sleeves up. That’s what characters at Manchester United are about.

"I don’t see men out there. I don’t see guys you want to be in the trenches with, guys you trust. Alex Ferguson always used to make the point that you need courage to be a Manchester United player - wanting the ball when you don’t really want it.

"Bravery doesn’t necessarily mean nailing somebody. Bravery means wanting possession, fans on your back, courage to pass the ball forward. We saw United players taking the easy option. They have to do better."

Keane, who made 480 appearances for the Red Devils between 1996 and 2005, claimed the current crop of players at Old Trafford do not appear to care enough when the going gets tough.

 "I'm just not convinced with these players. We often talk about characters with Manchester United - I just don’t see enough of them," he added.

"These are high-profile players. We give them a big build-up before the match. I tend to judge players by their actions and the actions I see from this team are nowhere near good enough.

"You roll your sleeves up at Manchester United. When things aren’t going your way that’s when you look at your leaders, your characters - and I don’t see any leaders out there, right through the whole team. It's a real, real worry for United now."

Advertisement