Gary Neville has launched a scathing asessment of Manchester United’s current demise, insiting they have got “a lot worse” under Ruben Amorim than they were when Erik ten Hag was in charge.
The Red Devils’ latest embarassment this season was handed to them by Crystal Palace, who beat them 2-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday in what was their seventh loss under Amorim.
United have lost five of their seven home games since the former Sporting CP manager’s appointment in November, a concerning run of form for the 20-time Premier League champions.
Amorim himself has said the current side could be the worst in the club’s history as he continues to try and implement his style on the players without too much success.
And former right-back Neville believes the season could get much worse before it gets better for United.
“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.’
Our last four against United 🫡#CPFC pic.twitter.com/E1xC3wVcxw
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) February 3, 2025
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.”
Hojlund and Zirkzee snub
Amorim raised eyebrows against Palace when opted to bench out-of-form striking duo Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund in favour of playing midfielder Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine.
It follows a public dispute with Marcus Rashford, who has since left the club on loan to Aston Villa after Amorim questioned his commitment to United’s cause.
But Neville says that while the 39-year-old may be unhappy with the current squad he has, it is important he keeps his players onside between now and the end of the campaign.
The Sky Sports pundit added: “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.”