He might not be Keane but beware of the Pog.. he may just come back and bite his many critics

TEDDY SHERINGHAM has pointed out that Paul Pogba is no Roy Keane, which is correct on many levels.

For starters, Pogba won a World Cup, Keane flounced out of one.

It seems Pogba is a honeypot for stinging criticism even when he has not kicked a ball for five months.

He invited a response last month when claiming not to have heard of Graeme Souness and it duly arrived in the form of an invitation to put medals on the table.

That Pogba (left) has more medals than Souness had won at the same career stage was pretty much overlooked.

If it was not so predictable, the latest broadside, this time from Sheringham, would be particularly cutting.

“He might be a talented boy, but does he dig deep and get Manchester United out of the mire when the going gets tough? The answer is no,” said Sheringham.

Maybe the time he scored twice to initiate a remarkable United comeback at the Etihad a couple of years ago – a 3-2 win conjured from a 2-0 half-time deficit – was a

CONOR MCGREGOR says he is the greatest of all time. Not sure about that but he can certainly act the GOAT.

one-off, but, even so, is there really any substantial evidence to suggest Pogba does not “dig deep”?

Let’s face it, much of the derogatory stuff said about Pogba has to do with image.

“He gives off the wrong vibe as a Manchester United player,” Sheringham (left) said, before going on to suggest Pogba does not have the “right mentality” or “right desire”.

It would be damning if it was not so fundamentally vague. Pogba’s statistics from midfield for United are more than decent – scoring 24 and assisting 25 goals across 102 Premier League appearances as a starter or from the bench.

And while it might not be on the unreachable level of Keane (below), as Sheringham suggests, Pogba has rarely looked as though he does not have the “right desire” when he is out on the pitch.

Probably his biggest problem is a loose-lipped agent.

Mino Raiola’s comments at the turn of the year, when he called United “a club out of touch with reality”, who would “even ruin Maradona, Pele and Maldini”, were unforgivable.

Pogba should have denounced those remarks. If he agrees with those sentiments, his future at Old Trafford is untenable.

I said that at the time, but times have changed. In the Covid-19 era, the financial future at another club might not be as bright as it is at Old Trafford for Pogba.

Either way, he is now gearing up for his comeback, for his first game alongside Bruno Fernandes and it is an intriguing prospect Pogba should be relishing.

Lockdown football will be stripped bare – the Premier League unplugged, no frills and no peripheral nonsense.

It will be weird, but it will be the sport in the raw and a player will be judged on his practical contribution alone – not on his “vibe”.

And, in that way, few have as much to offer as Pogba.

There have been many periods when Pogba’s time with United has looked on course for the exit gate.

He could still be a goner whenever the transfer window reopens, but this collection of matches to end the season could, even in such odd circumstances, rekindle a relationship between player and club.

He might never be a Roy Keane, but, for Pogba and Manchester United, this is Project Restart in every sense.

NATHAN JONES has returned to Luton Town. Good, he’d been gone too long.

WATCHING a cracking game of full-blooded rugby league from Down Under on Thursday morning made you realise how most countries seem to have dealt with this pandemic in a better fashion than ours. As if you had not realised that already.