Richard Keys and Andy Gray slam Roy Keane and other current pundits for being too critical

Richard Keys and Andy Gray have criticised Roy Keane and other modern pundits for their continual condemnation of players like Harry Maguire.

The duo, who left Sky Sports in 2011 after leaked tapes exposed the presenters making derogatory and sexist comments about female assistant referee Sian Massey, feel Keane epitomises the critical nature of analysts in today's game.

Since his retirement, the Manchester United legend has built a reputation as a no-nonsense pundit at Sky, perhaps best remembered for calling Maguire a 'disgrace' or once threatening to punch Red Devils goalkeeper David de Gea.

During a joint interview with the Telegraph, Keys and Gray explained how modern pundits are 'too quick to condemn'.

Keys began: 'Not everything in football is s***. But it is if you watch British television.

'I've had this conversation with Wenger. He said to me, "Why do Sky spend £1.1billion on a three-year cycle of broadcast rights and then spend that period destroying it?"

'He's right. I don't understand it either. If Andy or I had offered a scintilla of the same criticism to the modern player, we would have been out on our ear.'

The 65-year-old went to explain how Keane once lashed out at him during his managerial reign at Ipswich.

After hearing comments Keys made about Ipswich in 2008, Keane urged that he would 'rather be a dentist than an analyst' and has since gone on to become one of Sky's most recognised pundits.

'The guys who are criticising were probably the most sensitive of their time,' Keys continued.

'When he was manager at Ipswich, Roy hammered me. Now here he is on everybody’s wishlist, because he comes along and hammers everything else.'

Gray added: 'We’re too quick to condemn. Rather than battering players, I try to look for reasons why they might be struggling.

'Luckily, I had a boss at Sky, Andy Melvin, who taught me: "Don’t just criticise, tell me why it’s bad and why it might get better."

'Look at how Harry Maguire is being beaten up. And yet Manchester United paid £80million for him. So, he can’t be hopeless.

'If I had a bad day on the pitch, I would look at the Sunday papers, see a rating of three out of 10, and that would be it. Now there’ll be memes about you, worldwide.'