Lewis Hall told to 'shut his mouth' in bizarre attack on Newcastle United star
Former Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur boss Tim Sherwood has launched a bizarre attack on Newcastle United star Lewis Hall.
Tim Sherwood has told Lewis Hall to ‘keep his mouth shut’ in a bizarre attack on the Newcastle United left-back.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa boss has taken issue with the 22-year-old calling the England shirt “heavy” when he spoke to the media ahead of Tuesday night’s UEFA Nations League match in the Czech Republic.
"It's a heavy shirt,” Hall told reporters. “You're representing England so, whenever you step on the pitch, you've got to be at your best because there's a lot at stake.
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"Everyone who is in the squad, and even players who aren't in the squad, know how much it means to each other to play for our country. There's always nice competition and it's healthy to get the best out of each other."
A pretty sound, non-controversial response, right? Well, not according to Sherwood.
“I don’t like the honesty,” the 57-year-old told Sky Sports News. “I think he should keep his mouth shut when he’s talking about heavy shirts because I think the manager is looking at that and thinking ‘is it heavy just for him, or [is it] the collective that it’s heavy?’
“If you asked Jude Bellingham or Harry Kane, they wouldn’t say that shirt is heavy; they’d say ‘yeah, bring it on, let’s get to the next game and I’ll show you how good I am’. That’s what I want to see from him.
“I like him, he’s got a huge future ahead of him, but he’s got to realise their manager is watching their every single move, whether it’s in camp, in front of the press or certainly when he’s on the pitch.
“Now when he’s on the pitch, that’s all he’s got to do, just perform as he performs for Newcastle, express himself. He’s good going forward, he’s defensively sound as well. He’s got an opportunity to really cement that position for himself.
“[Even if the shirt does weigh heavy], don’t tell everybody you’re under immense pressure. Just get on with it.”