Former Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen has said ex-player pundits commenting on the club are detrimental to the squad.
In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Eriksen said United are expected to challenge for the Premier League title every season, with domestic cups not given the importantance they would at other clubs. He said it’s time to be more “realistic.”
“It probably depends who you ask. If you ask a fan, they want to be back to winning the league every year for the next 20 years like they did … this time of football it is almost impossible, to do that with so many other clubs having that many good players around. It’s tough,” Eriksen said.
“I think obviously they want to get back to that to being stable as a top club, but even being there, winning the FA Cup and the Carabao in the last two seasons is something that any other club would be proud of to have done.
“Then there is also the size and the image and the feeling at United — it’s like it’s not good enough. I think hopefully that will change. Even the Carabao [Cup] is a small thing, but at that moment it is a big thing.”
United legends, including Gary Neville, have frequently commented on the club as they have again endured a difficult season that sees them in 11th place after five games.
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Eriksen left United when his contract expired last summer and joined Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on a free transfer.
When asked about whether the opinion of ex-players has an impact on United, Eriksen said: “You see how big the club is, how much people want to be involved with the club, even on the media attention. I think even now we speak about United here. It’s just the power of the club.
“Obviously the more opinionated, the more feelings towards the club are negative, the tougher it is, because the fans follow their heroes on the TV and it doesn’t help the players at the club.
“At the same time at United, as a footballer, there’s always someone who has an opinion on one or the other, but you’re just playing football. You try to focus on that bit, and I think United were good at that. The focus was on the game itself and not so much what people say.’
