England captain Harry Kane has responded to criticism from two national team greats following a “concerning” start to their campaign at the Euros.
After a scrappy 1-0 victory over Serbia to kick off the tournament, England would draw 1-1 last week against Denmark in a disappointing performance.
Kane scored as his side split the points in their second match and while their spot in the knockout stages is all-but secured, it hasn’t stopped two ex-players from weighing in.
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Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Gary Lineker didn’t mince his words when quizzed on England’s efforts to date as they head towards some tougher opposition.
“You can think of all sorts of words and expletives if you like, but it was shit,” he said.
Co-host Alan Shearer was equally critical and took aim at manager Gareth Southgate.
“Gareth is not getting the best out of England’s best players,” he said.
“It was very poor, it wasn’t good enough. There was no energy, no pace to the game. We got caught too many times on the ball, too many sloppy passes.
“The players look shattered, there’s no excuse for that. It was really really poor and it is concerning, absolutely.”
With a combined 143 caps for England during their stellar careers, Lineker and Shearer are commentators with plenty of weight behind their opinions.
However, according to the current skipper, there needs to be a balance.
“People are trying to promote their own channels and sometimes the headline, because you want the most views, isn’t always what people want to see,” Kane said.
“People will do things for their own gain, that’s just life. First and foremost we try to ignore it, but we should try to back the English players as much as possible because we are doing all we can to make everyone, the fans and pundits proud.
“From my point of view, with the experience of players who have been there and maybe not played well in certain games and know how tough it is to play for England, maybe take a step back and see where you were and what it was like.
“I would never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England.
“They have a responsibility. I know they have got to be honest and give their opinion, but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player that a lot of players look up to. People do listen to them and people do care what they say.
“I know they would love nothing more if we are all celebrating after the Euros.”
Kane will lead England out for their final group stage match on Wednesday morning (AEST) against Slovenia before they move onto the business-end of the tournament.
In the other Group C fixture, Serbia and Denmark will battle it out for a chance to qualify.