Sports
Gary Neville taken aback by Roy Keane’s Gareth Southgate comments
Roy Keane described England manager Gareth Southgate a “class guy” in the build-up to the European Championship final, leaving Gary Neville surprised
Roy Keane heaped praise on Gareth Southgate ahead of the Euro 2024 final… and it certainly caught out Gary Neville.
Despite leading the Three Lions to a second successive European Championship final, Southgate has come in for heavy criticism. Some ex-players and pundits were especially brutal in the early part of the tournament.
As England have improved and progressed, the criticism has eased and turned to praise. Ahead of the final against Spain, the notoriously-hard-to-please Keane was hugely complimentary about Southgate, leaving ITV colleague Neville taken about.
“Gareth’s been the calmest man I’ve seen throughout the tournament,” said the Manchester United great. “He’s a class act, an absolute class guy.
“There’s a lot of steal about Gareth. If tonight’s his last game as England manager, I couldn’t begrudge anything good that happens to Gareth. I think he’s a top-quality guy and wish him nothing but the best.”
Keane added: “If they get that victory tonight, it will be huge for him. He’s done an amazing job. We forget, when he took the job, there were huge question marks over him, but the way he’s brought players together… This group of players has belief.”
Following Keane’s tribute to the England boss, Neville quipped: “That’s high praise. We’ve worked with him for a lot of years and he’s never called us top-class guys.”
Keane retorted: “Not yet, not yet. You’re getting there though, you’re on the right path.”
YOUR TURN! Is Keane right about Southgate? Tell us in the comments section.
It is unclear whether Southgate will step down after the final or lead England to the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The suggestion has been that, despite his contract being up in December, he would be sticking around and signing a fresh two-year deal.
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