Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane criticised Bruno Fernandes recently and the midfielder responded by doing his talking on the pitch.
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Fernandes pictured during the international break.(Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto)
Manchester United legend Bryan Robson believes Bruno Fernandes is "making a massive difference", but he wants the club captain to stop "rolling over when he gets tackled".
Roy Keane criticised Fernandes last month and questioned his credentials to captain United. Ironically, Keane's comments were published just a day after Fernandes contributed to each goal in the 3-2 victory against Ipswich Town.
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Fernandes subsequently built on that performance by scoring an excellent free-kick against Arsenal and scoring a hat-trick against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford in the Europa League.
The 30-year-old has stood up when his team have needed him most this campaign and former United captain Robson has now weighed in on the debate.
"Bruno has been in fantastic form in the last two months," Robson told The Mirror, via BetSelect. "I think the manager [Ruben Amorim] has told him 'you've got to be a leader on the pitch'.
"I just hope Bruno stays away from the rolling over when he gets tackled and that sort of thing. Bruno is so confident at the moment, and he's making a massive difference. Bruno has done what I'd expect of a United captain.
"Unfortunately, the team hasn't been good enough to win as many major trophies as a club like Manchester United should win. When you're at Manchester United, you want to be winning the league and European competitions.
"There's no extra pressure on you as captain. You're proud to be the captain of a team like Manchester United. You love the responsibility. As the captain, the inconsistency of the team is not your problem. That's the manager's problem.
"I always say if you buy poor players, you're going to have a poor team. If you buy great players, you're going to have a great team."
Fernandes was asked about dealing with criticism and he told Sky Sports: "Obviously, it is not nice to hear bad things about you; no one likes it. But at the same time, it motivates you and makes you think about a lot of things that people think you have to improve and you have to take it in a positive way, understanding that whatever people are saying and if there is a margin to improve or not.
"Obviously, I know you are talking about Roy Keane. As I have said before, I have a huge respect for Roy Keane. I think he is one of the best captains the club has had and he was an amazing player for the club.
"It is the way he thinks, the idea he has about me as a player, as a captain, and I have to respect that. I do things in my own way to try to be the best, not captain, but person and teammate as I can."
Speaking in a press conference at Carrington, Ruben Amorim responded to Keane's comments and said: “I heard about that [podcast]. I have a different opinion. Bruno is really important for us in the club, especially for me. He's playing well in a difficult context, he wants always the responsibility.
“I know sometimes as a captain, he does things like with his arms and sometimes you see it like criticising the team mates. I think, most of all, it is a lot of frustration for this year, in the last year and the others. He wants to win and sometimes it's really hard to deal with that frustration.
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“But, like I said, everybody has an opinion, Roy Keane has big standards from his time and it's normal to have an opinion. I have the opposite opinion and I think it is more important, my opinion, because I am the coach and I think he's doing things quite well.”