Sunderland manager Roy Keane has accused England's players of allowing their egos to get in the way of success as a team.

The 36-year-old former Republic of Ireland captain, who famously missed the 2002 World Cup finals in the Far East after a major bust-up with then manager Mick McCarthy, has more than once voiced his opinions about the current crop of Premier League stars.

Keane fears some are more interested in their pay packets, fast cars and WAGS than winning trophies and playing international football, and he believes England's demise is symptomatic of that.

As the post-mortem which saw England manager Steve McClaren lose his job in the wake of Wednesday night's 3-2 defeat by Croatia got underway, Keane insisted England have the players to compete, but blamed some of the egos within the camp for their failure to qualify. He said: "You look at the talent and the technique of the players, and England have that - they have that in abundance. To say Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney are not as talented and technical as the other players is wrong. But I do believe there are too many egos about in the England set-up and that has cost them dear."

Asked if he feels current players lack the hunger to succeed at international level, he said: "Without a doubt, and I believe you could see that with England. The players could talk all day and say, 'No', but you judge them by their actions.

"With the top players nowadays, the clubs would be the priority, without a doubt. I have to be careful about what I say about international football, but in the modern day, clubs will be the priority.

"I am sure they do love playing for their countries, but I watched some of them being interviewed after the game and you could see in their attitude, players are losing the love of playing for their countries. There is only Scotland where they all seem to want to turn up."

However, Keane admitted his surprise at the ferocity of the reaction to England's exit and told the nation to take it on the chin. "Everyone seems to be panicking. They are nearly a good team. The England players are quality players.

"You look at the English players they have got at this moment in time and they are good enough. It is not a case of everyone saying they are not good enough - but good players don't make good teams.

"Everyone needs to keep their heads. Everyone is panicking. Scotland haven't qualified, Northern Ireland haven't qualified, the Republic haven't qualified, Wales haven't qualified."

However, Keane did have sympathy for McClaren, with whom he worked during his time as Alex Ferguson's number two at Manchester United. He said: "He's an absolutely fantastic coach. I didn't play under him as a manager, and there's big difference between coach and manager. But if you don't qualify for a major tournament, you are going to suffer the consequences.

"As an Irishman, I am not going to lose too much sleep over it. You always hope the home nations will qualify and for none to qualify is a major shock. The manager takes the brunt, but I believe players have to take the responsibility. If you look at the talent they have got, it is unbelievable they have not qualified.

"If you are not doing well, you have the whole country on the your back. But Steve, no doubt, is a quality coach and he will bounce back from that."