Alan Shearer showed why he failed in management with Cyrus Christie criticism, says Martin O'Neill

The Match of the Day pundit singled out the Fulham defender in his assessment of Arsenal's 5-1 win at Craven Cottage

Alan Shearer showed exactly why he only lasted eight games as a manager by criticising Fulham defender Cyrus Christie, according to Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill.

The Match of the Day pundit singled out Christie in his analysis of Arsenal’s emphatic 5-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, criticising the wing-back for failing to provide adequate defensive cover for his struggling team.

O’Neill, who manages Christie at international level, has responded by arguing that Shearer should have been more mindful of what Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic asks his players to do.

“When you play a wing-back role, the first thing people will now ask you is, ‘What are the manager's instructions?’,” O'Neill said. “Now, it is mostly that they ask the wing-backs to stay very high up the pitch and not worry about coming back.

“I've asked Cyrus about this because the first thing I thought of when Alan Shearer was having a go is, ‘He hasn't thought this out’. Maybe that's why he only managed eight games [himself], that might be something to do with it.

“He should have prefaced things by saying, ‘I don't know what the manager has said’ because, at the end of the day, the manager has asked him to stay up the pitch and not worry about getting back.

O'Neill was keen to defend Christie in the wake of Shearer's criticism (Getty Images)

“I don't think the severe criticism was warranted – that's my view.”

Shearer’s only experience of management was not a successful or enjoyable one – he replaced Joe Kinnear in charge of struggling hometown club Newcastle for the final eight Premier League matches of the 2008-09 season, but a 1-0 defeat to an O’Neill-led Aston Villa on the final day saw them relegated from the top flight.

In his assessment of Fulham’s defeat on the show, Shearer said: “Arsenal identified a weakness, which was down Fulham's right-hand side, particularly Christie.

“And time and time again, whether it was Alex Iwobi, whether it was Danny Welbeck, they got into those areas and dominated in that position.

“Christie was constantly going forward, not worrying about defending. Three v three, look at Christie here... He's walking. His team is in trouble. His first thought has to be, get back and help.

“Now look at him on the halfway line there, he jogs, Nacho Monreal is away and all of a sudden he realises and it's too late. Ball into the box, first goal, punished because you're not thinking defensively. It was so alarming.

“I don't want to pick on him, but that was the side Arsenal looked at and that was the side that Arsenal dominated and were superb. They could have and should have scored some more.”