PAUL INCE has become the latest Manchester United to question Bruno Fernandes' captaincy credentials.
The Portuguese playmaker, 29, took over as Erik ten Hag's skipper in the summer after Harry Maguire was stripped of the armband.
But Ince, 56, who captained Liverpool at club level and led England out in 1993, is unsure about how suitable Fernandes is for the role.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: "I don't know what I see in Fernandes.
"Is he leader by the way he plays? At the moment he's not playing to the best of his ability.
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"Yes, he scored the winner against Fulham. But as far as being a leader, you do it by organisation.
"I, as a captain, always felt - and I've been privileged to captain every team I played for - my main thing was if I wasn't playing well, make sure the people around you are playing well because it shows how bad you're playing.
"That's part of being a captain - know your players and get the best our of them.
"When you look at Fernandes, sometimes it's just about him. When he's not playing well, you can see it in his body language. You can see him arguing with the ref."
Man Utd legend Roy Keane also slammed Fernandes for his conduct during the Red Devils' 3-0 defeat to Manchester City last month.
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He said: "After today and having watched him again I would definitely take the captaincy off him. 100 per cent.
"I know it's a big decision, obviously he changed the captaincy with [Harry] Maguire, but Fernandes is not captain material.
"I think he's a talented player no doubt about it.
"But what I saw from him today; his whinging, his moaning, he's throwing his arms up in the air constantly, it really isn't acceptable.
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"And what we saw today, I would take it off him.
"Cause we're talking about making changes, you have to start somewhere whether it's board level, managers, I would start with that because the manager is capable of doing that and holding his hands up and saying 'listen I got it wrong'.
"In terms of captain material, he's the opposite to what I would want in a captain."
But Ten Hag came out and defended his skipper.
He said: "From the moment I made him captain he did this [win games].
"Always when he is playing, he is giving energy and setting the example. And you see the way he is pressing, the way he is counter pressing. The way he makes recovery runs.
"He is absolutely the example and he is taking responsibility all the time. On and off the pitch.
"He takes responsibility by scoring important goals but also in how he is always wanting the ball and always wanting to create. I'm happy with my captain."
Keane also took aim at Ten Hag and Fernandes on Sunday after the Man Utd captain received praise from his manager for allowing Marcus Rashford to take a penalty in their 3-0 win over Everton.
United have won five of their last six Premier League games and are now just six points adrift of Arsenal at the top of the table.
Next up for Ten Hag's men is a trip to Newcastle on Saturday.
And Fernandes will be hoping to improve on his individual stats so far this season - which stand at just four goals and four assists in 18 matches.
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