Former England striker Emile Heskey has questioned whether Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is suited to the role.
The Portuguese midfielder has come under increasing scrutiny for his tetchy attitude and poor body language amid United’s ongoing struggles.
Following a 4-1 loss to Como in the Champions League, Fernandes even went as far as publicly criticising the club’s coaching staff.
However, Heskey believes that captains must take responsibility instead of shifting blame.
Heskey disagrees with current Fernandes role
During an exclusive sit-down interview with BestBettingSites, Heskey discussed Fernandes’ leadership role at United.
“I’m not overly sure Bruno Fernandes is a captain in the traditional sense. He’s probably a vice-captain,” Heskey admitted.
“You need a captain who you can rely on, someone you can go to with any problems – like John Terry, Steve Walsh or Gary McAllister. Proper captains.
“Rio Ferdinand or John Terry would back you up, but they’d also put you on notice that you need to be working.
“They’re the first ones to do things right, rather than just getting on your back and throwing their arms all over the place.
“In my opinion, Bruno needs to concentrate more on his football rather than being the captain.”
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Too easy to blame the manager
Asked about the 32-year-old’s recent comments aimed at the Red Devils’ managerial group, Heskey added: “As a player, you can cop out sometimes.
“Looking back to when I was playing, the game changes and you’ve got to change with it. You look at what the match needs – it might need a bit of pressure.
“You’ve got to figure that out on the pitch. You can’t just keep looking over at your manager saying, ‘Oh, he said don’t do this.’
“You might have to challenge your manager and say, ‘We can’t do this, we’ve got to go and press.’
“You’re on the pitch and you have to take ownership, especially as a captain. It’s too easy, especially at the top end, to keep blaming the manager.
“On the pitch, the 11 players can change stuff because what the manager sees from the sideline is totally different from the reality on the pitch.”
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