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Watch: Roy Keane Gave A Glum Assessment Of Man Utd After Their Champions League Exit

PJ Browne
By PJ Browne
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A disaster said Roy Keane of Man Utd's exit from the Champions League at the hands of Wolfsburg. He certainly wasn't the first to describe it as such.

Given the group they were in, a relatively easy one upon initial inspection, Keane - speaking on ITV's Champions League highlights show on Wednesday night - didn't know quite what to make of their elimination.

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He could see some of the problems though.

The presence of good players within the Man Utd squad, but ones who are, coldly, of insufficent quality to bring trophies back to Old Trafford.

Of course, there is also a paucity of 'characters and leaders', the stock in the soup that is a winning team.

I think Man Utd have a lot of good players, but I don't think they're good enough for Man Utd. I really don't. I think they lack real quality.

You look at the recruitment, they've thrown decent money at it.

No special players at the moment. When you think about Man Utd you always associate them with one or two special players who can produce.

They seem to be lacking a few characters, a few leaders.

When you look at the goals they conceded last night - I know their league form hasn't been too bad and plenty of clean sheets.

The goals they conceded last night, forget about tactics or systems, that was just doing your job.

Michael Carrick, as one of the most experienced players within the Man Utd squad, came in for specific criticism from Keane for his inattentive role in Wolfsburg's winner.

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They're almost robotic. We talk about tactics and systems but sometimes you need a bit of passion; desire. Man Utd players need to show a bit of character.

Talk about Carrick there [Wolfsburg winning goal], the guy's just walked off the back of him, an experienced player. Get a hold of him and say 'We are not conceding'. OK, I know they'd love to win the game but make sure we don't lose it.

Somewhat surprisingly, Louis van Gaal got off lightly; it's the players who are required to step up.

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Sometimes managers get too much credit when things are going well and too much criticism when things aren't going well.

You've got a lot of experienced international players - Carrick, Schweinsteiger, the goalkeeper - it's up to them to help the younger players.

Read: 5 Reasons Why Luke Shaw's Injury Badly Derailed Man United's Season

Read: How Did Man United Fare After Their Three Previous Champions League Group Stage Exits?

 

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