‘If the players are unhappy, change jobs!’: Ex-Man Utd star defends Fernandes after Liverpool loss

Suraj Radia

• 6 Mar 2023 14:00 CST
• 2 min read

Bruno Fernandes was not to blame for his side’s humiliating defeat against Liverpool and any teammates who doubt the Manchester United captain should ‘change jobs’.

That is the view of former United striker Louis Saha who leapt to the defence of Fernandes following the team’s 7-0 defeat to their bitter rivals over the weekend.

Fernandes has been captaining the team in the absence of Harry Maguire and the Portuguese star was criticised by pundits such as Gary Neville, who described the player’s attitude as ‘embarrassing’, after being seen showing frustration towards his teammates.

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However, Saha compared the actions to Roy Keane, who was his captain at United, and insisted that Fernandes was just displaying the same personality that he has shown throughout his time at the club.

“Yes, he throws his hands and complains but that’s his way of showing energy and it’s the same when he’s doing well and people don’t complain so I’m not going to criticise the guy,” Saha told Comapre.bet.

“If the players around him are unhappy with his body language and are worried about being criticised by their captain, change jobs. That’s it. You have to accept these things. Keane used to do it too, he always looked for a reaction, whether it was the right one or not.”

Saha: I will defend Bruno

Fernandes avoided punishment for a clash with an official during the loss and the 28-year-old was called on by some to be stripped of the captaincy after his poor display of body language throughout the game.

However, Saha refused to pile the blame on Bruno, insisting everyone on the team was just as fault as the skipper.

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“He’s the captain because he’s a leader and people make mistakes,” Saha said. “They didn’t lose 7-0 just because of him, it was every detail and I don’t mind seeing players being really hurt by the result.

“I will defend Bruno, everyone is entitled to make mistakes and he will learn from them and reflect, maybe he’ll see what fans and pundits have said about his behaviour and he will think about it.

“His frustration could well have been about his own performance too, and he just expresses it in that way. I think he wants to win and that’s what I see in him.”