Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has urged the club’s players to show greater determination or face a difficult few weeks.
United drew 1-1 with 10-man Tottenham at Old Trafford on Saturday after Dominic Solanke struck a stoppage-time equaliser to cancel out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener, sparking boos from the home supporters.
The disappointing result extended the Red Devils’ poor start to the season, and head coach Michael Carrick now has plenty to ponder ahead of fixtures against Atlético Madrid and Leeds United.
Neville issues warning
Analysing United’s midfield struggles, Neville said on Sky Sports: “[Youri] Tielemans and [Kobbie] Mainoo – I think we’ve seen enough of it now.
“I’m not calling time on it because that’s probably too drastic, but I’ve seen enough to think that’s not a midfield that’s dynamic enough to play at this football club in the Premier League.
“I think they are both good players individually, but sometimes you just have players that don’t quite knit together or don’t quite suit each other.
“There’s going to have to be something done in there and the rest of them are going to have to get a grip, because they are going to Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid and Elland Road.
“If you’re not quite right there from a mental and physical perspective, you’re going to get found out.
“They’ve got a couple of days to recover, pick themselves up from this and get going, because if they don’t get going, it’s going to be a worrying few weeks.”
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Fans losing patience
Asked about the mounting pressure around Old Trafford, Neville added: “I think the fans will stay with the project. I don’t think the boos are against Michael Carrick for one minute, but what I would say is they’re turning quite quickly.
“Manchester United fans are incredibly loyal, beyond loyal, to their managers and to their players, but what they won’t accept is a lack of energy. They won’t accept a lack of what they deem to be effort.
“I don’t like saying effort but the reality is they’re not running enough, they’re not showing enough tenacity, determination, fighting spirit. They’re just not.
“What we’re seeing at the moment is a team that looks like they’re curling up in a ball. For some of them right now, it looks like the club is getting a bit big for them.
“It did a little bit under Ruben Amorim towards the end where they just started to go a little bit like that.
“Michael Carrick has got to get something out of them. The boos I don’t think are against him, but the pressure’s on him, the questions are obviously always with the manager and you just hope they can come out of it in these next few weeks.”
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