Former England striker Emile Heskey thinks that given all the money Manchester United have spent under the Glazers and Jim Ratcliffe, Michael Carrick has no excuses and needs to start winning.
However, he laments the lack of fear factor at Old Trafford, saying the club are a shadow of the institution it was under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ahead of their Premier League clash with United on Saturday evening (5.30pm kick-off), Heskey also hit out at Tottenham’s brittle mentality – and thinks Roberto De Zerbi needs to turn things around soon.
Under pressure
During an exclusive sitdown interview with 10bet, Heskey said of Carrick and De Zerbi: “The pressure is on both of them, not one or the other. Both.
“Man United because Man United should be winning every game – well, there’s a belief that Man United should be winning every game and challenging at the top, and they probably should be with the money that they’ve spent and the players that they’ve got.
“Spurs have spent a lot of money this summer. Huge sums.
“They’ve improved the squad to a point where it’s all on the manager now.
“You can’t ask for much more: they’ve given you a perfect stadium, they’ve given you a perfect training ground, they’ve thrown money into the players, so it’s time for you to give back.
“The pressure is going to be on.”
Still in with the ‘Big Boys’
When asked about the ‘Spursy curse’, Heskey added: “To be honest with you, when I was playing Spurs, they weren’t the Spurs that they are now in terms of pushing and with an ambition to challenge for titles; they weren’t one of the so-called ‘Big Boys’.
“They didn’t challenge for titles or for a place in the top six.
“But in their mind they are challenging, because of what they’ve spent and everything and who they are.
“If you were to say the big six, you’d vote Spurs in there, wouldn’t you? Even after their two consecutive 17th-placed finishes.
“You’d throw them in the ‘Big Boys’ equation now, but they’re not showing that on the pitch.
“Is there a lot of pressure on the players to perform? Yes, there is, but that’s what life is like at a top club.
“You have to perform – there’s pressure on you to perform all the time. They shouldn’t be falling to pieces every time they concede a goal.”
No fear factor at Old Trafford
United fans will have been dreaming of a fight for silverware and the title before the season began – but Heskey added: “I think there’s no fear factor at Manchester United anymore.
“There was a fear factor when we were playing them; the Fergie days.
“Teams would go there and shut up shop, knowing that United had the best squad and that they can make two or three changes and still be miles better than you.
“Going to Man United, especially with smaller clubs, players thought ‘How many can we keep this down to.’
“Now teams are going in super confident, thinking, ‘How many goals are we going to get?’ They’ve lost that fear factor at Old Trafford.
“They need to fix it with results, and it’s how you play.
Taking control
“You could go a long time on the pitch at Old Trafford and not touch a ball. Now teams are taking control at Old Trafford, which was unheard of when I was playing.
“I think one factor is the pressure the players are under at United. You need to win games at United, same as Liverpool. It’s not a case of if you’re going to win – you have to win.
“There is a certain style of play, and it needs to be progressive, it needs to be dominating the ball, and you need all of that.
“And then you’ve got to remember: 80,000 or 90,000 fans, you give the ball away, the groans, that can drain some players and cause players to play safe passes.”
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