Gary Neville launched a scathing assessment of the first few months of the Ruben Amorim era at Manchester United in the wake of the club’s most recent setback.
The Red Devils were handed a chastening 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Sunday, which consigned the club to a seventh Premier League defeat under Amorim.
In fact, United have now lost five of their seven home league matches under Amorim, in a worrying run of form for the club.
The new head coach has not had long to bed in with his new players, given a lack of pre-season training and limited tactical planning with the club in midweek action, and reports suggested he had even fallen out with Marcus Rashford.
The manager frequently suggested that he did not want players who would not give their ‘maximum’ after Rashford claimed he was ready for a new challenge after being left out of the Manchester derby earlier in the season.
As such, amid the club’s torrid form, Gary Neville has predicted that things will only go downhill for United before the end of the campaign, and indeed the current progression – or lack thereof – could hinder next season’s plans too.
Ruben Amorim and Manchester United were beaten 2-0 by Crystal Palace at the weekend
Gary Neville has claimed that things have got worse under Amorim since replacing Erik ten Hag
It was a shocking fifth defeat in seven home Premier League matches so far this campaign
‘I thought it would get better when Ruben Amorim came in, he said on the Gary Neville Podcast. ‘I thought the enthusiasm and the new system, I thought they’d buy into it the players, and we’d see a bounce.
‘We’ve seen the absolute opposite. It’s got a lot worse and that’s surprising.’
He continued: ‘But there’s going to be a lot more pain towards the end of the season and it is going to be damaging.
‘They’re obviously going to stick with Ruben Amorim, but the more you lose, the more difficult it is to convince the players of the idea. The idea that he talked about in the early days.
‘You need the players to buy into it, but if they lose with it, and they keep getting criticised, the spotlight comes on them more and the fans are leaving unhappy.
‘You can’t keep losing. It will depress the thoughts of the players, to the point whereby they’ll lose faith with the idea.
‘It’ll damage the start of next season. He has to do something. He can’t change his approach because he’s died in a ditch on it. And rightly so. I think he’s lost more games at Manchester United since he’s come than he lost in the last 75 at Sporting.
Much was made of the Portuguese head coach’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system that brought great success at Sporting Clube de Portugal, and how it would fare under rigorous testing in the Premier League.
Patrick Dorgu was unveiled at Old Trafford before the game on Sunday after joining from Lecce
Marcus Rashford was sent out on loan to Aston Villa until the end of the current campaign
Results alone would so far suggest that things are not quite going to plan for Amorim, though it is worth pointing out that he has been largely unable to make additions to his side in order to bring in personnel better suited to his tactical plans.
However, as Neville points out, he must now try to adapt to the players that he has in a bid to get the best out of them if he is to stand a chance to rescue United’s season.
‘He will not be enjoying this but I think he’s got to simplify it. He might not like [Rasmus] Hojlund, he might not think [Joshua] Zirkzee is great or might not like other players. He’s got to pick the players he has and stick with them.
‘It can’t keep going on as it is they have to somehow start to play better but where’s it coming from? But I have to say at this moment in time it’s a sorry situation, a very sorry situation when United play.’
United did bring in Patrick Dorgu, the deal finalised over the weekend, to bolster Amorim’s ranks at left wing back.
With Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw struggling for sustained fitness, the former now moving on loan to PSV Eindhoven, the Red Devils were thin in the ranks on the left of defence.
Wing back, though, as Neville adds, is a specialist position requiring both attacking and defending prowess, and as such the acquisition of the Danish international from Lecce should be a major boost to Amorim.
While things are not going swimmingly in the league – United are currently 13th with only eight wins from 24 after the weekend’s results – Amorim can at least take solace from his side’s performances in the Europa League.
Reaching the Europa League last 16 is set to give Amorim valuable time on the training pitch
Amad Diallo’s emergence as a forward of genuine quality has been a real positive at United
The Red Devils qualified automatically for the round of 16 after finishing in the top eight, which will buy the head coach invaluable time on the training pitch with his side to further get across his tactical plans.
Similarly, United have a strong chance of going deep into the FA Cup – of which they are the holders following Ten Hag’s win over Man City at Wembley last summer.
They will take on relegation-threatened Leicester on Friday in the fourth round, and will be confident of progression.
There are some positives, too, within his squad, with Harry Maguire seemingly playing himself back into form after a tough couple of seasons under Ten Hag, and Amad Diallo is emerging as a forward of genuine promise.
Joining a team in such disarray in mid-season was always going to be a tall order for Amorim, particularly with his own preferred style of play so at odds with the previous system.
The transfer window over the summer will play a crucial role in defining the success of the next campaign for Amorim, though he will likely most be looking forward to pre-season, when he has a whole month dedicated to getting his team firing on all cylinders and truly understanding his tactical ethos.
