Paul Pogba would “never sleep” if Roy Keane was manager at Manchester United, says Johnny Giles, while Fred has been accused of being “lazy” following a forgettable showing on derby day.
The Red Devils suffered a 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals Manchester City in their most recent outing.
A humbling experience on home soil is considered to have highlighted the gulf in class which exists between those at Old Trafford and the defending Premier League champions at the Etihad Stadium.
Former United captain Keane was among those to make that point in the wake of another disappointing showing from Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s side.
Pogba has become an easy target for those picking holes in an inconsistent United side, with a World Cup winner considered to be selfish and only interested in playing for his own good.
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The Frenchman has been told that he should be grateful for having such an understanding manager, with Giles telling the Off The Ball podcast: “If Keane was managing Pogba, he'd never sleep.”
A 26-year-old with obvious talent endured another off day against City.
He was not the only one, with fellow midfielder Fred another to have frustrated with his ball retention and inability to track back as Pep Guardiola’s side put the game out of sight.
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Keane said of the Brazilian on Sky Sports: “You need to see Fred for the second goal? You are talking about players giving it their all. That's cheating. What he has done is cheating, letting a guy run off him.”
Gary Neville tried to defend the South American, suggesting that his legs had gone on a tiring evening, but Giles believes there are no excuses.
He added, when supporting the view of fellow Irishman Keane: “You don't make excuses for players not having it in them. What he didn't have in him was an effort to run back. That's a given as a player.
“The fact is Fred messed up because he was lazy and not doing what he should be doing.”
Giles also believes that Keane was right to call out former team-mate Neville on a number of other issues, adding on a heated debate which provided more entertainment than United managed out on the field: “What Roy Keane was alluding to was the things that he did when he was a player.
“I thought Keane was brilliant in his analysis and actually tore Neville to bits.
“What Neville was saying didn't make sense to me. Neville made a case that the way City play, they tire out [opponents]. Well, that's nonsense to be quite honest. I think it's nonsense. You don't get tired with half-an-hour or more to go.”
United need to pick themselves up and show more energy on Sunday when they return to Premier League action on home soil with a crunch clash against fellow top-four hopefuls Chelsea.