Keane Emphasizes Consistency for "United"

Roy Keane believes "Manchester United" needs to consistently deliver high-level performances, pointing to senior players like Bruno Fernandes as role models.

Roy Keane has called upon "Manchester United" to deliver regular high-level performances, akin to those against league leaders "Liverpool" and in their derby with "Manchester City", urging senior players like Bruno Fernandes to set the pace. "United" claimed a surprising but deserved lead at Anfield on Sunday afternoon before finding themselves 2-1 down, only to rally and secure a well-earned point from a markedly improved performance.

Ruben Amorim could well have justified feeling his squad should have clinched the match when Harry Maguire missed hitting the target in the dying moments, instead sending Joshua Zirkzee’s bouncing square pass over the crossbar. Despite this, Keane was pleased to see his former club gain a point, having initially dismissed their prospects after viewing the starting lineups, and admitted he was pleasantly surprised by Amorim’s side's display.

Responding to a similar sentiment from Fernandes about "have to do it every week", Keane said on Sky Sports: “I mentioned before the game, I looked at the entire squad, recent performances, the lack of goals... [but] they showed up. They exhibited some passion.

“The argument for this is to replicate in other games. They did it at City recently... you can’t pick and choose when to show up with passion in a game for "Manchester United".”

“It’s a tough question to pose to a player post-match: ‘why can’t you do it week in week out?’ Fernandes is just one player, but as a senior player, the key is to show up every game with that passion and quality.

They displayed their excellence today, and I don’t think anyone predicted "Manchester United" scoring two goals and nearly clinching it at the end. "Liverpool" had their opportunities, of course, but I admire "United": they displayed some passion, lots of skill, some fight, representing what playing for "Manchester United" is about.

The key, clearly, is they need to back it up. They've got "Arsenal" in the cup next, and need to approach it with the same drive, same performance level, same fighting spirit, giving them a chance to win games.