This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
As quoted by The Manchester Evening News, Paul Ince has slammed David de Gea for his interview after the match against Newcastle on Sunday.
What did he say?
De Gea delivered a brutally honest verdict on Manchester United’s struggles this season, and labelled the current period at Old Trafford as the “worst time” in his entire Red Devils career.
Now, Ince has criticised the Spain international for his comments, and took aim at the goalkeeper’s inability to offer up a meaningful solution to the problems.
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He said: “I watched David de Gea’s post-match interview and I was at a loss. He’s meant to be one of the leaders, if that was Peter Schmeichel standing there, there’s no chance you’d have seen that interview.
“Rather than him addressing and recognising where the team were going wrong, it just felt like ‘I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know’. This is one of the top players, the leaders at Man United, who has just signed a five-year contract. And he looks like he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on.
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“If you’re a United fan listening to your goalkeeper, one of the main leaders in the team, and that’s the interview you hear, you’d be right to be disgraced. I’d be looking thinking, ‘Jesus, he doesn’t have a clue what’s going on’ – I bet he’s regretting signing that contract.”
Refreshing honesty
De Gea’s words were essentially a ‘damned if you do, and damned if you don’t’ kind of situation. Some will have applauded his searing honesty at United’s plight, and others, like Ince, will have been mortified. Fresh off another disappointing result in the Premier League, the Spaniard essentially let his inner emotions out, and spoke what was on his mind.
Clearly, the Red Devils’ troubles haven’t gone away by players trying to put on a brave face and bringing out the classic ‘we go again’ lines, so the 28-year-old’s refreshingly unfiltered comments made a huge change from the norm.
Could it be the kick up the backside the squad needed? Having a senior player publicly voice the frustrations and anger that he has in order to spark a reaction? It was well worth the shot, and Ince really should know better from his own playing days.