West Ham were on the wrong end of a 4-0 Premier League defeat to Brighton yesterday, with their captain Declan Rice coming in for a rake of criticism due to their run of poor form, which sees them lying in 16th place.
In his post-match interview, Rice clapped back at those speaking negatively towards his team, saying that if they were experts then they would be the ones on the pitch.
It's all noise, I don't really listen to it. I don't really listen to the opinions of other people, because of they were experts they would be playing on the pitch, but they're not so.
So I just keep my head down, so do all the lads. We listen to ourselves, we listen to the people around us, we stick together as a group and we move onto the next one.
Like I said, we know it wasn't good enough.
The comments were not well received from fans, who were looking for more of an apology than a retort from Rice.
Declan Rice Claps Back At Negative Comments
“If they were experts they’d be playing on the pitch ..”
🤯🤯🤦🏽♀️🫢 pic.twitter.com/TGUqfZ1xyD— Alex 🏴⚒ (@alexnaomiramos_) March 4, 2023
Sore loser + low IQ🥱 https://t.co/P0fsHOKt2V
— AJ (@AJ__SR7) March 5, 2023
Forget this serial losing bum and get this serial winner instead 👍 https://t.co/A45TPTDqaW pic.twitter.com/HeD6XqeW7L
— ⏰💣 (@Bottle_Job_FC) March 5, 2023
massive massive loser mentality. Saw the same when he lost his head with the refs after we played them off the park Europa league semis https://t.co/oehWWmhVnV
— 21ème arrondissement de Paris (@189nlne) March 5, 2023
Roy Keane could put on his boots today and still give a better performance than this clown ⚒ https://t.co/0OdRbflQzm
— Pulkit 🔰 (@Oletrain) March 5, 2023
READ HERE: Roy Keane's Comments On Declan Rice Show His Opinion Has Changed Significantly
While Rice's word were not directed at anyone in particular, the mid-week comments from Roy Keane were probably in his mind when speaking after the Brighton loss.
"I don't think he's been that good," said Keane ahead of West Ham's clash with Man United. "I don't think he's been great this season. He's not really kicked on, you know, for all the talk about him, a lot of good PR coming out of West ham, how much he's worth.
"I think he needs to do a lot more. He doesn't get enough goals, doesn't get enough assists.
"Do you disagree? That's good. I hope you disagree me. Because I think I know what I'm talking about, I played in midfield.
"He needs to do a lot more. We'll see what he's like now tonight. And listen, I've been a fan of him. He turns up every week, he's always fit, but I just want a bit more from him."
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