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Stephen Kenny defends Seamus Coleman after Jamie Carragher criticism

Published 16:56 12 Apr 2022 BST

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"I’ve seen him in some matches when he knew he wasn’t right."

Stephen Kenny jumped to the defence of Seamus Coleman following Jamie Carragher's remarks about the Everton defender being a part of a "Championship back four." Carragher had questioned Coleman's place in the Everton starting XI following the Toffees' 5-0 thumping defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur in March.

Stephen Kenny on Jamie Carragher's remarks.

Carragher told Sky Sports after Spurs' heavy win over the Toffees, "people are just running in behind him. And that goes back to Everton's recruitment, that Seamus Coleman's still playing right now." The former Liverpool defender said he "felt sorry for Coleman." Kenny, however, said that Coleman has been in good form since Frank Lampard was appointed as Everton manager. The Donegal native scored for Everton in a 3-0 win over Leeds United in February, which was Lampard's first home Premier League game in charge at Goodison Park. He was also excellent in team's win over Man United on Saturday. https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/1512791188520153089 "I thought Seamus actually was in really good form when Frank Lampard came in first, and then just to have a bad game that was live on TV," Kenny told The LOI Show. "He obviously got a lot of criticism and people then believed that’s how he’s been playing for six or eight weeks when he hadn’t, he’d actually been playing very well up to that."

Kenny on 'selfless' Seamus Coleman.

Kenny said that Coleman is always eager to play, even if the 33-year-old is carrying a knock, in order to help the team. The former Dundalk manager said that the Ireland captain is a "selfless" player. "So he got criticism, but the issue with Seamus is not that he’s not at the level. He is at the level, it’s just sometimes he’s put himself out there when he’s not been 100 per cent, putting the team first," Kenny added. "He’s not one to speak up, it’s ‘if you want me out there and the physio says I’m right, I’ll play,' so he’s come back very quickly from injury and probably when he wasn’t right. And I’ve seen him in some matches when he knew he wasn’t right. He’s so selfless that way."