West Ham boss Pellegrini defends Rice after TV pundits bashed his England displays
WEST HAM boss Manuel Pellegrini has defended his young England star Declan Rice ahead of Monday's game at Villa Park after TV pundits bashed his performance for the Three Lions last week.
Scotland's Charlie Nicholas spoke of Rice’s "mistakes and clumsiness" on Sky Sports after his misplaced pass led to Kosovo’s second goal in England’s 5-3 win at St Mary’s and said that fans were getting "far too excited" about the 20-year-old midfielder.
However, the Hammers youngster was also involved in he build up to England's fourth goal when his expert interception led to a counter attack which Jadon Sancho prodded home.
On ITV, Roy Keane branded England’s defensive efforts as a whole "sloppy".
Pellegrini, though, does not see a better England-qualified candidate for Rice’s holding midfield role.
Pellegrini said: “Declan is a young player but he is improving in every game he plays.
“He is just 20 years old and I think at his age, being a holding midfield player for England is an important merit for him and demonstrates the way he works and plays in every game.
“You can’t expect a player not to make mistakes.
“Of course he will make mistakes, as every player does.
“But in the way he is improving, I think at the moment he’s the number one in that position.”
Some managers prefer to rotate young players in and out of their teams to take the pressure off or give them a rest.
But Pellegrini said: “At 20 you don’t know if you are tired or not. You always want to play.
“If he has any muscle problem then of course we will rest him - we have Carlos Sanchez in that position.
“But for the moment, Declan must continue playing games.”
