Glenn Hoddle raved about the character of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice as he pointed out that he thought the player was previously at risk of fading into obscurity.
The BT Sport pundit shared that after being hooked at half-time in the Hammers’ opening game of the season against Liverpool, he could have easily gone into his shell and you would have never see him again.
Hoddle pointed out however that Manuel Pellegrini noticed Rice’s character and that the player had gone on leaps and bounds since that display in order to earn his manager’s full respect.
“Declan Rice the interview you had (Hargreaves) with him before the game, he got pulled at half-time away to Liverpool, he could have gone into his shell and we would have never seen him,” said Hoddle on Premier League Tonight, as seen in a clip on BT Sport’s website.
“Yet he is playing for England now, but his character, the manager saw his character and he went through that (struggles) and said I’ll show ya.
“And he has come out the other end with the manager’s full respect and he has gone on leaps and bounds.”
OPINION
Rice’s awful display against Liverpool this season, wasn’t the first time he had struggled in a Hammers shirt. The 20-year-old clearly struggled to cope with playing in midfield against one of the best sides in the Premier League, just like most players would have. While some would have claimed it was enough to say he wasn’t good enough in midfield, they would have been jumping the gun. Hoddle clearly was among this group as he appears to reveal he feared for Rice in that moment. Yet the pundit clearly holds his hands up and points out how Rice has drastically improved since that display and now has Pellegrini counting on him. The 20-year-old showed in 2017/18 season that he was made of stern stuff as David Moyes did hang the player out to dry after he made a mistake against Arsenal. While no Hammers fan enjoys seeing one of their side’s player make a mistake, they will appreciate that errors have helped carve Rice into the player he is today.
