Van Persie is a 'prat'! United's star striker accused of not trying by legend Giles as pressure piles on Moyes' boys

• Johnny Giles hit out at Robin van Persie, saying he didn't try
  
• Ex-Manchester United midfielder says David Moyes should get more time
• Former Ireland striker Richie Sadlier says United should sack Moyes
• Ronnie Whelan says Rio Ferdinand doesn't want to be at Old Trafford
  

By Paul Collins

Published: 06:04 EST, 27 February 2014 | Updated: 16:07 EST, 27 February 2014

Former Manchester United and Leeds hard man Johnny Giles has labelled Robin van Persie a ‘prat’.

The ex-Ireland midfielder-turned-TV pundit hit out at the Holland striker but leant his support to under-fire manager David Moyes who he believes should be given 18 months to make his mark on the squad.

Giles read out on air on Irish channel RTE comments Van Persie made regarding team-mates occupying 'his zones' and whether or not his comments show Moyes can't cope with the superstars at Old Trafford.

Giles said: 'It can also show you Van Persie is a prat.

'In other words [to the comments] he is not at fault. Right, he's not at fault. And I watched the game last night and he never tried a leg.

'Moyes can't make him play. He should be out there playing and doing his best. That's what all players should be doing, regardless of manager.'  

While Giles wanted Moyes to be allowed more time to shape United, fellow pundit Richie Sadlier called on the league champions to cut the Scot loose.

‘Moyes has shown in the last few months that he is completely out of his depth,' said Sadlier. 

The former Ireland striker says he cannot imagine a scenario in which United, managed by Moyes, will recover from the current malaise that sees them well off the pace in the Premier League and in danger of Champions League elimination.

‘People are exaggerating how bad this United side are,' Sadlier insisted.

Fellow pundit Ronnie Whelan pitched into the debate by declaring that defender Rio Ferdinand does not want to be at United and questioning why Moyes does not follow the lead of his predecessor Sir Alex Ferguson and get rid of fractious elements in his squad.

Whelan commented, ‘People are saying United need five or six players but they need to get in eight, nine or 10.’

Meanwhile, John Hartson has accused Van Persie of talking ‘absolute garbage’ and claimed his Champions League outburst shows there are ‘cracks in the camp’ at Old Trafford.

In a withering attack on the United striker, Hartson said he had never heard anything like it in his entire career and added it was symptomatic of a deeper underlying problem that is piling the pressure on Moyes.

‘It’s poor, very, very poor,’ he said on BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘I’m a big fan of Van Persie, but what he has come out with is total nonsense. It is absolute garbage to say that other players are getting into his zones or his space.

‘I played football at the highest level for the best part of 20 years, and I never heard such a thing. I never once heard a player say you are getting in my space or zone. It’s a nonsense. Where he’s getting that from, I don’t know.

‘I’m sure this is where Sir Alex Ferguson would pull him aside and say, “Look, Robin, this is a joke. You can’t be saying this about your team-mates. You have got to roll your sleeves up and pull your socks up and start putting the effort in you were before to get back to winning ways.”

‘That’s how it should be with him, not go off and speak to some Dutch journalist and slaughter your team-mates. That, for me, is saying there are cracks in the camp, and that’s not good enough.

‘It’s really poor from Van Persie. You would expect better from a striker who was pivotal in winning the title last season.

‘I don’t know where he’s coming from with a statement like that. Maybe it would be different at an attacking set-piece, where you might go on a run to one post or the other to meet the ball and wouldn’t want a team-mate doing the same, but not in general play. It just doesn’t make any sense.’