Boss Thomas Tuchel was forced to apologise to Bellingham after saying his mother found the midfielder’s on-field attitude “repulsive”.
England’s Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers (John Walton/PA)open image in gallery
England’s Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)
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Morgan Rogers has praised close friend Jude Bellingham, saying his fiery nature is an example to his England team-mates.
Boss Thomas Tuchel was forced to apologise to Bellingham after saying his mother found the midfielder’s on-field attitude “repulsive”, insisting he had used the wrong word in his second language.
Tuchel also said in the interview with talkSPORT that the Real Madrid star, who is absent from the current international camp as he recovers from shoulder surgery, could be intimidating to his team-mates.
Few have known Bellingham as long or as well as Rogers, with the pair growing up together in the West Midlands, and the Aston Villa man insists his friend’s fieriness should inspire others.
“I don’t think he intimidates us,” Rogers told BBC Radio 5 Live. “I think it’s just his will to win, his heart, what it means to him, the player he is and the person he is.
“I think he just wants to win and do well all the time. And when that doesn’t happen, maybe his frustrations will show a bit more than others.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, as long as he’s doing it in the right way, which he always does from where I am.
“He just wants to win. He’s got that determination, that fight and that hunger to win and do well and succeed.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily a problem or an issue. He is a leader and is an example for us.
“That’s exactly what you need. I know he’s younger, but the experience that he’s got, the things that he’s won and games he’s played in, I think that experience is vital and key.
“I think it’s a positive and a really good thing that he’s got that eagerness and that want to win.
“I think it can drag you all along, if maybe something’s not going right, and it can pull you together.”