Roy Keane warns the ‘biggest danger to England is THEMSELVES’ against Ukraine – as he hails Gareth Southgate for ensuring there is ‘no circus’ around his Three Lions squad at Euro 2020
Roy Keane has claimed the biggest danger to England ahead of their Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine is themselves, but stated there was no ‘circus’ around this squad like in previous tournaments.
Gareth Southgate’s side will face Andriy Shevchenko’s outfit at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday evening with the nation hopeful of potentially securing a semi-final spot against either Czech Republic or Denmark.
And Keane described the difficulty of managing the egos and ‘certain personalities’ of big players at big clubs, especially at previous major tournaments, but backed Southgate’s composure to keep the Three Lions unified and grounded.
Pundit Roy Keane has claimed the biggest threat to England, managed by Gareth Southgate (pictured), against Ukraine at their Euro 2020 quarter-final on Saturday night is ‘themselves’
Keane said previous England sides had ‘certain personalities’, potentially disrupting the squad
He said: ‘In lots of big tournaments there’s been a circus around England, with certain personalities; we don’t see it with this group.
‘There’ll be egos within the group, there’s some big players at big clubs. But this is where Gareth’s management skills come into it. The biggest danger to England against Ukraine is themselves.
‘I wouldn’t be looking too far ahead. Gareth’s personality is a big help to this England group. He’s so calm, you can only look at the next game as the next game is always the hardest game.
But the ex-Manchester United captain said there was no ‘circus’ around this squad of players
The Irishman also praised boss Southgate (centre) for his management skills and personality
‘The fact they’re keeping clean sheets, showing strength in depth, players coming off the bench having an influence – we saw (Jack) Grealish the other day (have an influence). And (Harry) Kane is maybe on the up with his goal.’
The fiery former Manchester United captain also delivered his verdict on whether to rest Harry Maguire, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice or Phil Foden, all of whom are a yellow card against Ukraine away from a suspension in a potential semi-final.
He added: ‘I’d just look at the next game and this idea of resting players for a quarter-final at a big tournament is a dangerous route to go down. Gareth has to focus on picking the best players to get over the line and he’s done a brilliant job so far.’