Graeme Souness says he’d discover trendy soccer ‘an absolute doddle’ as he blasts Declan Rice

Legendary hardman Graeme Souness has blasted modern football as dull – and reckons he’d find today’s softer game an “absolute doddle”. The Liverpool and Scotland hero believes modern Premier League players have it much easier than in his tough-tackling era.

He reckons this new crop of £100m midfielders would have been eaten alive back in the 70s and 80s. Souness, 73, told the Star: “Don’t ask me, ‘Could I play today?’ Ask me, ‘Could guys [like Declan Rice] have played in the 80s and before that?’

“Where do you need the most technique? On a carpet when there’s no nasty challenges, or on a bobbly pitch where you’re having to take an extra touch all the time and people are launching themselves at you to hurt you?

“Trust me on this. I played with great players that would find football today a lot easier than when they played.”

The former Rangers, Newcastle and Blackburn manager complained that astronomical wages and fees have made players and fans rate this modern era too highly.

And he suggested that the likes of Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson would struggle if deprived of the pristine pitches and “side-to-side” football that they are used to.

Souness said: “What’s happened with the modern game, these young men get so much money that the man in the street puts him on a pedestal. They think that if he’s on 150 grand, that means he must be fabulous.”

He added: “Regularly in the game of football, the people who touch the ball most in a team are the two centre-halves. I don’t like where they’ve gone in their own half and they’re passing it sideways to each other.

“Every supporter wants to see their team playing football in the opposition’s half. How can it be attractive if your centre-halves are the players with most of the ball in your team?”

And one modern midfielder Souness remains unconvinced by is Arsenal’s Declan Rice. He said: “He’s a good player. He’s a very good player, but he’s not a great player in my opinion.

“He does a great job for the team, but tell me one thing he’s great at. I’m a fan. He’s a seven out of 10 every week, but he ain’t a great midfield player in my opinion.”

Souness did admit he is slightly jealous of modern players, especially when he hears about their astronomical wages.

He said: “For football players playing today, this is the golden period. What a time to be a football player. The money these young men get today, it’s not just their life it’s changing. It’s setting future generations up for life.”