Gary Neville has claimed a ‘ridiculous’ decision by under-fire manager Ruben Amorim has undermined confidence from Manchester United players in his system.
Amorim is facing mounting pressure at Man United after their latest defeat, with the Red Devils losing 3-1 against Brentford on Saturday.
The result leaves Man United lying 14th in the Premier League after six matches, with Amorim’s side winning two, drawing one and losing three so far this season.
Amorim is still yet to oversee back-to-back league wins at Man United since taking charge last November, while his side have claimed just 34 points in 33 Premier League matches under the 40-year-old.
Despite the Red Devils’ continued struggles under his management, Amorim has remained insistent he will not deviate from his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation.
Former Man United captain Neville admitted he is ‘very worried’ following the defeat and pinpointed Amorim’s turning to Mason Mount as a left wing back when chasing a way back into the game as one that will have damaged faith in the system.
Pressure has grown on Ruben Amorim following Man United’s dismal 3-1 loss by Brentford
Gary Neville labelled his use of Mason Mount as a left wing back as ‘absolutely ridiculous’
‘I felt for the first time, just through instinct, watching it on the television, seeing players’ faces and body language, that there might be an element of players really doubting the system and what’s going on,’ Neville said, speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast.
‘There was something that happened in that game that I mentioned on my podcast two or three weeks ago that I said we couldn’t see again. I said that Mason Mount ended up at left wing-back.
‘There’s sticking to your plan and then there’s your coach that’s got an idea and making sure that he delivers that idea and not flip flopping with his idea with players, which can sometimes undermine what you’re trying to achieve.
‘But then when you’re putting Mason Mount at left wing-back – and he’s ended up at left wing-back again at Brentford in the last five minutes to the game – it starts to look awful.’
‘You can’t put Mason Mount at left wing-back. I’m sorry, it just can’t happen. I can’t watch Mason Mount play left wing-back in a football team.
‘I struggled at times to watch him in his natural position, but actually putting him out there on the left wing, is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.’
The defeat marked another major blow for Man United and Amorim, who had been hoping to build momentum after a 2-1 win over Chelsea last weekend.
Coupled with Graham Potter’s sacking at West Ham, the defeat saw Amorim become odds on favourite with Betfair at 8/11 to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
The Sky Sports pundit suggested Man United players may be doubting Amorim’s system
Amorim, who previously claimed that even the Pope could not persuade him to change his system, again insisted his favoured tactic was not to blame for their latest defeat.
‘It is always the same, when we win it’s not the system, when you lose it’s the system. I think it’s more that we play this game like Brentford wants to play this game.
‘With long balls, we kick the balls, second balls, and we never settle down in our game. We never play our game.
‘We never pushed the opponent, every time they recovered the ball. We suffered two goals like that.
‘I think the penalty could change things, but my overall view of the game is that we never settled down, we didn’t have control of the game.’
The Red Devils had gone 2-0 down on Saturday with Igor Thiago scoring a brace for the Bees in the opening 20 minutes, before Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with his first goal for the club.
Bruno Fernandes spurned the chance to bring Man United level after seeing a second half penalty saved, with Mathias Jensen scoring Brentford’s third in stoppage time.
Man United face newly promoted Sunderland in the final match before the international break, before a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.
