Harry Kane appears to take direct swipe at Gary Lineker by lashing out at ‘people with podcasts’ who are trying to ‘promote their own channels’ after Match of the Day host slated England on his ‘The Rest is Football’ show

Harry Kane appears to have launched a direct attack on Gary Lineker by attacking ‘people with podcasts’ who are trying to ‘promote their own channels’ after the Match of the Day host put England on his programme.

Lineker described England as ‘s***’ on ‘The Rest is Football’, which he hosts and is owned by Goalhanger, his production company.

He is among a string of ex-players turned pundits, including Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand, who condemned the Three Lions. Tuesday in the 1-1 draw against Denmark.

Kane used a press conference to suggest to former footballers who knew what it was like to ‘wear the shirt’ that they should think twice before criticizing the current crop of England stars.

And later in the session he suggested an ulterior motive, saying: “With podcasts and things like that, people are trying to promote their own channels and sometimes, because you want the most views, the headline isn’t always what people want to see.

Lineker described England as ‘s***’ in ‘The Rest is Football’, which he hosts and is owned by Goalhanger, his production company

“People will do things for their own gain, that’s life, but we try to ignore it first and foremost.

‘But we have to try to support the English players as much as possible because we are doing everything we can to make everyone proud. The fans and experts are proud. I know they would like nothing more if we all celebrate after the European Championships.’

England are the favorites to win this summer’s European Championship. The country tops Group C with four points heading into Tuesday’s final group match against Slovenia in Cologne.

But despite being close to finishing with a game to spare, their disjointed performances in the 1-0 win against Serbia and the 1-1 draw against Denmark have left the team under intense scrutiny.

Lineker called the display ‘s***’ on his podcast, after saying Kane ‘needs to do a lot better’, with Shearer another critical voice.

Asked about Lineker’s criticism, Kane said: ‘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.

“But what ex-players or ex-players who are experts need to realize now is that it is very difficult not to listen to it now, especially for some players who are not used to it or for some players who are new to the environment.

‘I always feel like they have a responsibility. I know they have to be honest and give their opinion, but they also have a responsibility as an ex-England player that a lot of players look up to, that people listen to them and that people care about what they say.

“The bottom line is that as a nation we haven’t won anything for a long time and a lot of these players were part of that and they know how tough it is, so no one is digging it.

‘It’s just the reality that they know it’s difficult to play in these big tournaments and difficult to play for England.

‘I would never disrespect an ex-player. All I’m saying is remember what it’s like to wear the shirt and have their words heard. Some guys, I don’t know how many, but we hear about it.

‘We all want to win a big tournament and I’m sure they want us to win a big tournament. It would be a much better way to be as helpful as possible and build the boys up with confidence.”

Rio Ferdinand, left, and Micah Richards, right, also heavily criticized the English showing on the BBC

Kane said none of the young England players have voiced the criticism to him, but he says the modern world means “everything pops up, it’s hard to cut yourself off from everything.”

Clips spread quickly across social media and the England captain suspects some comments were maximized for engagement.

“There will be games where I get stick or other players get stick,” Kane said. ‘Maybe when I’m 40 or 50 I’ll be on one of those shows picking players out – I hope that’s not the case. It could change. But it is what it is.

But from my point of view, with the experience of players who have been there and maybe not played well in certain games and knowing how difficult it is to play for England, maybe you can take a step back and look at where you were and what it used to be. like it.’

Asked if he would contact one of the experts, Kane said: “It depends on the situation, I guess. I don’t think there is a need for that at the moment.

“With podcasts and things like that, people are trying to promote their own channels and sometimes, because you want the most views, the headline isn’t always what people want to see.

“People will do things for their own gain, that’s life, but we try to ignore it first and foremost.

‘But we have to try to support the English players as much as possible because we are doing everything we can to make everyone proud. The fans and experts are proud. I know they would like nothing more if we all celebrate after the European Championships.’

Declan Rice is another member of the four-man England leadership group and shares his captain’s views.

“I’m not disappointed because look, I’ve played football long enough, I know how they work,” the midfielder told ITV. ‘That’s why it doesn’t really bother me at all.

‘Look, they are entitled to their opinion. They are on television and say what they want. I know some of them personally. They’re great guys.

“But like I said, they’ve been in our shoes too, and sometimes right before they say something they think they’ve been where I’ve been and where our other players have been and they haven’t done well. tournaments.

“So look, I don’t know why we feel like it’s so negative. We’re talking like we’re leaving the tournament here. You know, we’re the best of the group. We have to stay positive, stay optimistic.”