Gary Neville has explained why Manchester United’s ageing spine should be performing far better despite an upturn in results for Ruben Amorim's side
Gary Neville
Gary Neville has taken aim at four Manchester United stars
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Gary Neville has taken aim at four Manchester United players as he issued yet another damning verdict about his old club.
United have had an upturn in form in recent weeks after Ruben Amorim appeared to be fighting to keep his job at the start of October following a poor start to the season. The Reds extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four games with a 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.
But despite United’s improved results in recent weeks Neville still believes four players in particular - Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes - should be doing more.
“I think your spine of a football team is critical,” he told the Overlap and Betfair's Stick to Cricket show.
“When I first came into Man United, our spine was (Peter) Schmeichel, (Steve) Bruce, (Gary) Pallister, (Roy) Keane and (Eric) Cantona and so we were all scattered around it.
“We literally were able to be cushioned by this unbelievably strong spine that delivered reliably every single week.
“I think Maguire and De Ligt should be doing a lot better than they are. You know, you look at the experience that those two have got.
“De Ligt's played a mountain of games at sort of different levels, the highest level. Harry's played so many times for England. You've got the midfield, Casemiro and Bruno have got massive experience.
“Up front, they haven't got the experience. But to me, that spine of Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Maguire and De Ligt is ageing, but should be doing a lot better at holding it all together than they do.
“That's why I think Liverpool are good because they've got Alisson, Van Dijk, they've got MacAllister and Gravenberch in midfield and then they've got, obviously, the centre-forwards that they've got.”
Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Matthijs de Ligt during a Manchester United game
Gary Neville believes Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Matthijs de Ligt could all be doing more for Manchester United
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Neville spent all of his career at Old Trafford, making 602 appearances for the club, 400 of which came in the Premier League. He won every major honour on offer and admits Roy Keane is the most influential footballer he has ever come across.
“I think people see the real Roy Keane on Stick To Football, which is more of the real him,” he said.
“He's a compelling storyteller, funny, loyal, great morals, family man, everything that you would want, but fiercely competitive.
“For me, he was the Sir Alex on the pitch. If you've got the coach that's basically unbelievable, you still need a player on the pitch that's going to replicate that.
“Think about how important you were as a captain on the pitch. You're massively influential on the game and he was massively influential to us.
“I mean, without him, I always used think without him, we were half the team. He was that important. He's most influential football player I've ever seen.”