Quotes

I fear England are going the way of the Republic of Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

English players are not getting enough first-team time in the Premier League. We're going backwards from 1990 and the era of Paul Gascoigne and that 'conveyor belt of talent'. Simply, the Premier League is riddled with average foreign players. This is having such a detrimental effect on the first-team opportunities for young English talent, and our international results.

[on Lisandro Martínez's height and physical capability] [Erling] Haaland would score then throw him in the net.

[on Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo having their jacket hoods up during a Manchester United training session] Don't mind hats and gloves but no way can you train properly with your hood up... standards begin on the training pitch... bye!

[on previous comments from himself and Nicky Butt regarding Lisandro Martínez's height and physical capability] No, I'm not apologising for it, no. The thing we were trying to say was we thought and it still is: physically, it's a mismatch. Now look, the way we described it probably wasn't great and we probably shouldn't have done that but still: it was [a mismatch]. He's had one good game. [smiles]

What Jack [Wilshere] gets up to in the summer is up to him. He had a smoke, but it's not the end of the world. At United the laundry room used to be full of smoke in the mornings because Laurent Blanc and Fabien Barthez wouldn't start training until they had a cigarette. I've known foreign players have a glass of wine or a beer the night before a game. I have never smoked, but when there was a chance to go out with my wife or my friends then I would take it. I was brought up going to the pub on Saturday and Sunday afternoon with my mum and dad. When I became a first-team player I realised when I was 19 or 20 that I would have to be more professional.