Roy Keane hits out at excessive adoration of stars, while Gary Neville compares trend to Sir Alex Ferguson’s three-word method at Man United: ‘Players are getting praise for controlling the ball!’

Roy Keane has suggested that players in the present day are ‘getting praised too much’ by their managers on the pitch.

Keane has made a name for himself in punditry with his brutal assessment of players, including his criticism of England’s porformances at Euro 2024 and Manchester United’s worst-ever Premier League season.

Players usually have to do a lot to earn the praise of Keane when he is on punditry duty, and the former United captain has now given an insight into why he is often delivering harsh criticism.

Speaking on the latest episode of Stick to Football: The Overlap Special, brought to you by Sky Bet, the like of Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright were reminiscing on their playing days and the relationships they had with their coaches.

Keane, who played much of his career under Sir Alex Ferguson at United, revealed that he feels players receive too much positive feedback in the present day, suggesting that it needs to be toned down.

Keane played under Sir Alex Ferguson (right) for over a decade at Manchester United, enjoying widespread success

He compared the Scot’s methods to the modern day, criticising the praise that players receive

‘Every manager is different,’ Keane began. ‘Back in the day, [Nottingham] Forest players who won big trophies before I went to Forest, they said all they ever wanted from Brian Clough [was praise].

‘John Robertson would say once he got the thumbs up, he felt 10-foot tall. But now it’s gone the other way – players now are getting praised almost too much, players are getting praised for controlling the ball.

‘Everyone kind of looks for it a little bit. No matter what you’ve achieved, when someone gives you a bit of praise, a bit of a thumbs up, it’s cool.’

Alongside Neville, he then began discussing Ferguson’s methods, which led United to 13 Premier League titles and a Champions League among a number of other trophies.

Nveille played for United’s first team between 1992 and 2011, the entirety of his stay under Ferguson, while Keane was at the club between 1993 and 2005. 

‘The boss’ [Ferguson] words were, “Well done, son” at the end of a game if you won,’ Neville said of the Scot. ‘That was it. I never saw him lavish praise on anybody in the dressing room at the end of a match and say, “You were amazing today”, or, “You were brilliant”.

‘When you’re in a position of power, every word you say to them [the players] means more than what you think it means when you say it. If you say something that you think is OK, or normal, or you think you’ll just move on from, they may not.’ 

Neville (left), meanwhile, revealed the three-word method that Ferguson used for feedback

Keane added: ‘Sir Alex Ferguson would always say, two important words you should say to players on the training pitch is, “Well done”, but not where it doesn’t mean anything at the end of it.

‘Like Brian Clough, I’ve played under managers where they do give you a bit of it, you go, “Alright that means something”, it’s not a cheap compliment.’