Gary Neville has accused Ruben Amorim of not knowing his best back three after 10 months as Manchester United head coach.
Manchester United were comfortably beaten by Man City in the 197th derby on Sunday evening.
The result means Ruben Amorim’s side have four points from four games, after being knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two outfit Grimsby Town.
United started the match well, but went a goal down after 18 minutes when Phil Foden found the back of the net with a header. The Red Devils were unable to strike back as Erling Haaland completed the win with a second-half brace.
These results will inevitably lead to more pressure for Ruben Amorim, with pundits asking more questions about his system and decision-making.
Amorim has been adamant that his preferred system is not the problem and he is unwilling to change his methods, even if results don’t pick up in the near future.
Ruben Amorim disappointed during the Manchester derby
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s habit of switching the defence
There was little sign of a comeback from Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium.
While Amorim did not have many attacking options on the pitch, he did wait until the final minutes to bring on Joshua Zirkzee – after making several changes elsewhere in the team.
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The United head coach has been guilty of making changes to his defence in every game, even when the Red Devils are chasing games.
Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw started in the back three against City. However, Shaw was the only defender to make the full match, despite being the worst performer by some distance.
“Every single time I watch Man Utd, he changes the back three,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“That tells me he’s not sure about which back three to play. He doesn’t just change the back three, he changes the back five.”
Neville also warned that Amorim will be in trouble if United are still 14th in October.
“Man Utd are 14th,” he added.
“We’re only four games in. We all said we can’t be getting into October where Man Utd are 14th or 15th in the league otherwise the manager will be in trouble. They have to start winning quickly.”
Amorim’s worrying Premier League record
Since becoming United’s head coach, Amorim has only won four of 26 Premier League games against non-promoted teams.
That doesn’t bode well ahead of next week’s test against Chelsea at Old Trafford.
Amorim needs results in the Premier League, or the pressure will worsen. United fans don’t want to feel like the season is over in October.