‘Blame the players for everything,’ says Middlesbrough’s de Roon

Marten de Roon insists that he and his team-mates should carry the can for Middlesbrough’s Premier League struggles this season.

Aitor Karanka was sacked as manager in March but Dutch midfielder de Roon, who joined Boro from Italian outfit Atalanta last summer, believes that the Riverside’s playing staff are the ones that should have taken responsibility for poor results.

Boro did follow up their first win of 2017 against Sunderland last week with a battling 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Sunday, but de Roon reckons Steve Agnew’s side should have hit top form much earlier this term.

“I’m annoyed that we see a performance like that,” said the 26-year-old.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“If we had done that more often, then maybe we would not be in this position we are in now.

“Why didn’t we show it 10 weeks ago? Of course, that is something that goes through your mind.

“It’s so difficult to say what went wrong and so frustrating and disappointing that this comes so late.

“All we can do is say we will fight to the end.

“It is always difficult to say if a change of manager is so important. I would never blame a manager – it is always the players.

“You cannot sack 25 players but you can sack the manager and hope for something great.

“I think that, as a team, we let the first gaffer down and then with Steve, we didn’t get a win soon enough so it is our responsibility – not the coach.”