GRAEME SOUNESS has dismissed suggestions he has an agenda against Manchester City star Jack Grealish.
The former Rangers and Liverpool manager appeared on talkSPORT earlier this week, where he described the England international as a "good, but not great player".
The pundit supported his view by stating that Grealish holds on to the ball too much, an opinion he had previously stated prior to his £100million transfer to City.
This sparked a sharp response from the player, 27, when speaking to the media.
Grealish said: “I don’t know what his problem is with me. He always says stuff about me but I try not to read a lot of it.
"It is difficult when he’s on Sky Sports and it’s everywhere around the training ground at times.
“Listen, he was obviously a great player and won a lot but I don’t know what it is with what he says about me, or what problem he’s got. I know within myself, I always watch my games back and I am very critical of myself."
🙏 “I’d love a night out with Jack!” 🤣 “I’m not sure I could stay with him, but I’d enjoy a night out with him!” Graeme Souness admits he’d love to go out for a beer with #MCFC’s Grealish! What do you think @JackGrealish? 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZTc9MkLYMO
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) September 22, 2022
Re-joining Jim White and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT this morning, Souness insists he's got nothing against Grealish, even stating that he would love a night out with him.
Although, the Gers hero did warn the attacker to stop being "precious", as he highlighted his previous assessments of Paul Pogba while at Manchester United.
He said: “I don’t have a problem with Grealish, I don’t have a problem with anyone.
“I think he’s a good player, technically he’s fantastic, but being a really good technician is only a part of the game. I don’t believe we can be critical of the modern player.
“When I was having a go at Pogba, it was because it was Manchester United and my Liverpool connections, and I think I was the first one to call Pogba out as an average player in our league, and I think I was proven 100 per cent right at the end of the day.
“I’m sure if I met Jack I would really like him. He’s a cheeky chappy and I’d like to have a night out with him as well, but I just feel the modern player doesn’t take criticism very well.
“Listen, I’m paid to offer an opinion and I’ve been in the game 50 years, so I think I’m entitled to have an opinion. Don’t be so precious.
“I don’t have a vendetta against anyone at all, this is just my opinion at this time about Grealish. And, really, Jack doesn’t have to listen to me, he doesn’t have to listen to anyone. The only opinion that should count for Grealish is his manager.
“Jack has got the dribbling ability very few players have, and that kind of ability gets you on the edge of your seat, but you’ve got to deliver at the end of it. It’s not just about dribbling past two players and then giving the ball away.
“When the game was explained to me at Liverpool – and how lucky was I to be a student to Jock Stein, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagen, Ronny Moran, Alex Ferguson? How lucky was I to learn at the feet of those football people? You don’t get any bigger.
“This was the way the game was explained to me: if you’re in a team of 11 and you’ve got two strikers, the other nine are just carriers, they are there to serve the two guys who play up front, they are the ones who get the goals to win you the games and get points in the bag.
“The best way to serve them is to get them the ball as quickly and accurately as possible, don’t dwell on the ball unnecessarily, don’t be clever when you don’t need to be. That’s the game of football in a nutshell.
“So there is absolutely no agenda against Jack. I’d love a night out with him, I’m not sure I could stay with him, but I’d enjoy a night out with him.
“He has to choose who to listen to, and if he decides my opinion is not worth listening to, I can live with that. He only has to listen to his manager, he’s the only one he has to impress.
“I’ve explained my thinking about football, I don’t think that’s changed anywhere in the world, and I cannot believe any coach anywhere will tell their players to hold onto the ball for as long as they can. No.
“So, if I was working with him, I’d ask him to move the ball quicker. I would explain the game to him in the way I’ve just said.”
