Harry Kane wants outspoken ex-England players to remember what it is like to wear the shirt.
Among the favourites to win this summer’s European Championship, Gareth Southgate’s sit top of Group C on four points heading into Tuesday’s final pool match against Slovenia in Cologne.
But, despite being all-but through with a match to spare, England’s disjointed displays in the 1-0 win against Serbia and 1-1 draw with Denmark has seen the team come under intense scrutiny.
Former striker Gary Lineker labelled the display “s***” on his podcast, having said that Kane “needs to do a lot better”, with fellow pundit Alan Shearer another critical voice.
“I would never want to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England,” skipper Kane said.
“But what ex-players or ex-players who are pundits now have got to realise it is very hard not to listen to it now, especially for some players who are not used to it or some players who are new to the environment.
“I always feel like they have a responsibility. I know they have got to be honest and give their opinion but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player that a lot of players look up to that people do listen to them and people do care what they say.
“The bottom line is we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time and a lot of these players were part of that as well and they know how tough it is, so it is not digging anyone out.
“It is just the reality that they do know it is tough to play in these major tournaments and tough to play for England.
“I would never disrespect any ex-player. All I would say is remember what it is like to wear the shirt and that their words are listened to. Some of the lads, I don’t know how many, but we do hear it.
“We all want to win a major tournament and I am sure they want us to win a major tournament and being as helpful as they can and building the lads up with confidence would be a much better way of going about it.”
