Jamie Redknapp believes that Manchester United must show some patience and stick with Ruben Amorim.
Since the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson retired after winning his 13th Premier League title in 2013, United have had 10 different managers – including interim bosses – in less than 12 years.
Amorim has been in the job for less than four months but has already faced criticism following many poor performances and results on the pitch.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford was Amorim’s 26th game in charge of United. The Red Devils have won just 10 times under the Portuguese so far, losing nine games and drawing seven.
Amorim was apologetic to fans after Sunday’s stalemate – during which United had less than 32 per cent of possession.
He conceded that United supporters would generally want to see more attacking football from their side but said that a more cautious approach was warranted, given his team’s injury issues and the quality of their opposition.
Ruben Amorim has won just 10 of his first 26 matches as manager of Manchester United
Amorim’s struggling United side drew 1-1 with Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon
Reacting to Amorim’s comments on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday, Redknapp praised United’s current manager for his honesty and also suggested it had been refreshing to hear him openly criticise his team in recent weeks.
‘It’s exactly what you’ve got to do, you’ve got to find a way to get results at the moment,’ said Redknapp. ‘That’s not going to be the way he wants to play going forward, he knows that. But I actually think he’s bright enough to realise [what is needed].
‘We’re going to talk about what his win percentage is at the moment and how well they’re doing. I often listen to what a manager says and how much sense they talk. And I’ve listened to other managers previously try to almost insult fans’ intelligence by saying, “we actually played well today. Yeah, we are really showing some [improvement].” No, you weren’t. No, you’re not. Whereas this guy understands, the team is not of the level that it should be.’
Redknapp was joined on the Sky Sports punditry panel by two former United captains in Roy Keane and Gary Neville, who both helped the club dominate English football in the 1990s and 2000s.
Pointing at Keane and Neville, Redknapp continued: ‘Now, when I look at the Man United team, this squad… how many of them would have got in these two’s squads? Bruno [Fernandes] might have got on the bench at most. Apart from that, none of them.
‘So that’s how much the quality has gone down. So if you’re not going to have those types of players around you, you’ve got to improve it, you’ve got to get your recruitment right. And how long is that going to take? Is that two, three, four windows? Who knows?
Bruno Fernandes scored the opening goal on Sunday with a fine free-kick just before half-time
Ex-Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp was at Old Trafford as a Sky Sports pundit on Sunday
‘But he is well aware, and he’s probably the first one that’s actually come out and said it, “we are not good enough’. So if you get rid of him, you’re going to have another manager come in and work with an average bunch of players. They’re not good enough.’
Responding to Redknapp’s rant, Keane pointed to United’s current position in the Premier League as he asked: ‘But do you think this group is better than 14th?’
Redknapp hit back: ‘Absolutely. But that’s not just all his fault. But when I look at Bournemouth and what other teams have done and how well they’re doing, and you look at the league table and you see some of the sides at the bottom, that shouldn’t be the case. We know that.
‘But I still think that time is of the essence. You can’t just keep chopping and changing managers every week, because that’s not going to bring success here.’
