Roy Keane has urged Paul Pogba to bring his ‘big personality’ to the football field.
Pogba was left out of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United lineup for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Sevilla, although he only had to wait 17 minutes to enter the action as an early substitute for injured team-mate Ander Herrera.
Since his widely-criticised display in United’s 2-0 loss to Tottenham, Pogba has only made one of United’s last four starting XIs, sparking talk of a feud with Mourinho.
Roy Keane wants Man United star Paul Pogba (above) to bring his ‘big personality’ to the pitch
Pogba didn’t start against Sevilla and Keane admits his recent form hasn’t been good enough
Keane was surprised to see Pogba benched in Seville, but the former United captain acknowledges the Frenchman needs to up his game.
Speaking on ITV, Keane said: ‘Pogba is a really good player. He’s under lots of pressure at the moment. There’s lots of speculation about him.
‘He was left out tonight but you’d still have Pogba in your starting XI.
‘I look at Pogba off the field. He seems to have a big personality, whether it be social media, the cars he drives, his haircut. He needs to bring that onto the football pitch.’
Keane was keen to stress that Pogba is not the only United player who has been performing below their full potential recently, citing Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez as prime examples.
Keane says midfielder Pogba is not the only United star who needs to raise their game though
January signing Alexis Sanchez (left) is another player who Keane is calling on to improve
He added: ‘Man United’s problems are not just with Pogba. Lukaku’s got to do better. Sanchez – I know he’s new to the club – he’s got to do better.
‘They obviously need to reinvest in some defenders.
‘You can’t keep pointing the finger at Pogba but of course the lad has got to do better.’
Lukaku, who had a goal disallowed for handball in Seville, has scored 21 times in his first season as a United player, but Keane is frustrated by the Belgian’s general play.
‘You’re talking about Man United, one of the greatest clubs on the planet,’ said Keane. ‘They still need to do better. And certain players need to up their game.
‘Lukaku, for example — get hold of the ball. Whatever about putting the ball in the back of the net, get hold of it.
‘And if you want to became one of the great strikers of Man United and you get the chance, like he did tonight, you’ve got to score in these tight games.’
Former Red Devils captain Keane is unimpressed with striker Romelu Lukaku’s hold-up play