'David de Gea is not the same... he must work harder than ever for Manchester United'

Gary Neville says the goalkeeper must work through his poor form after a run of high-profile mistakes
Tom Doyle22 June 2020

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea must "go back to basics" to rebuild his form and confidence, according to Gary Neville.

The Spain international goalkeeper was heavily criticised for not keeping out Steven Bergwijn's strike in Friday night's 1-1 Premier League draw at Tottenham.

Roy Keane, another ex-United captain, fumed at De Gea during the half-time analysis of the game on Sky Sports claiming he would have told the goalkeeper to "get a taxi back to Manchester."

Former United captain Neville claims De Gea's performances have been off for some time, and believes putting in the hard miles may be the answer to getting back to his best.

"He's got to go back to basics," the former United captain said on the Gary Neville Podcast.

"There's only one thing you can do when you're having a tough time: work. Work harder than you have ever done in your life.

"What will happen is that you will tell yourself the amount of work you put in you deserve to be good again. That means coming in at 7.30am and leaving at 6pm if needs be. He has to do something to stop the erosion."

Regarding De Gea's situation, Neville continued: "He was the one player United could rely upon for the last four years but he's not the same.

"He hasn't been the same for some time. When form drops for six months it's a blip but when it goes on for a year you start to worry. When it goes over two years it becomes more permanent.

"That is now a fair representation of what De Gea is as he's making lots of mistakes. Ones he would never make - he was always somebody you could completely rely upon.

"It can only be a confidence thing. The arms, legs and body are the same - it's got to be the mind.

"The reception he's got in Spain has affected him. He's even been booed by Spanish fans when he's wearing the Spanish shirt.

"In the World Cup in 2018 he really struggled and from that he's doubted himself. Mentally he's not quite the same."

Additional reporting by PA.

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