Former Premier League winger Trevor Sinclair has criticised Newcastle United winger Ryan Fraser for the way he spoke after the 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Saturday.
The Magpies were easily beaten 3-0 at the Amex Stadium, with goals coming from Leandro Trossard, Danny Welbeck and Neal Maupay.
It was a shocking display once again, with the Seagulls superior in all departments.
After the game, Fraser went before the media and was accused of seeming like he didn’t much care about the latest embarrassment.
Sinclair said (via talkSPORT’s GameDay podcast): “Why are we surprised that Ryan Fraser didn’t look bothered?
MORE NEWCASTLE STORIES
“Come on, think of last season when he was at Bournemouth. He had the opportunity to play after the restart and back his troops, his teammates, his brothers in arms and he downed tools.
“Players need to roll their socks off, roll their sleeves up and have a right go, and you need someone with a bit of integrity and that doesn’t radiate from the squad at the moment and especially from Ryan Fraser.”
Sinclair may have a point
Fraser’s final sixth months or so at Bournemouth were indeed a little strange.
He may have only just joined the club, but the 27-year-old is an experienced player with talent and really should be assuming some responsibility.
At the moment words are hollow, and they don’t look too good knowing how his stint with the Cherries came to an end.
As Sinclair says, Fraser and the other players need to roll their sleeves up and starting scrapping, and showing a bit of heart and passion like the situation demands.