Man Utd should hire Roy Keane if they decide to end Ruben Amorim’s time at Old Trafford, according to former Red Devils striker Teddy Sheringham.
The Red Devils are going through a terrible spell in the Premier League with Amorim’s side currently 14th in the table after 27 matches so far this campaign.
It was hoped that Amorim would be able to turn Man Utd around after Erik ten Hag left at the end of October, with the Red Devils winning just five of their 16 Premier League matches under the Portuguese head coach.
The Man Utd players have struggled to adapt to Amorim’s formation, style of play and philosophy so far and Sheringham reckons the Red Devils need ex-captain Keane to go in and “ruffle a few feathers”.
Sheringham told Prime Casino: “Roy Keane, without a doubt. There’s no leaders at the football club. You need leaders at top football clubs.
“You know, your John Terrys, your Tony Adams, your Roy Keanes, players that lead by example and make sure other people are doing their jobs. No-one’s doing that at Manchester United. So, get Roy Keane in there to ruffle a few feathers, make sure that they all understand what they should be doing and do it.
“Roy’s been out of work for a little while now. I wouldn’t be averse to having him back at the football club, but I think there’s only one role for Roy and he needs to be the leader. If they’re thinking about changing Amorim, for me, putting someone back in charge, it would be a leadership coup to do that and get Roy in.
“There might be fireworks at certain times, but it needs to be sorted out, doesn’t it? Manchester United needs shaping up there. I don’t know whether he’s evolved in his time away, if he’s ready to go back into football or not. His ego would probably take him back in there as well.”
On whether Sir Alex Ferguson would have been able to turn the current Man Utd side around, Sheringham added: “I think Fergie evolved over the time that he was at United. From what I’ve been told, he was far more sedate in his manner by the time I got to United and had started to become more relaxed.
“Fergie was a cool customer compared to what he was at Aberdeen, so I think he would have adapted. He would understand the current situation and he would have worked out how to speak to certain players.
“I think there’s still a time to speak to players in no uncertain terms, to ruffle a few feathers. But you have to make sure that if you’re digging out a player, you’re digging out the right ones.
“You need your players in the dressing room to understand what you want from everybody, not just from your leaders. Fergie would probably go for one of his leaders to send a message.
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“He might even tell him beforehand that ‘I’m going to come for you in this meeting but it’s not really directed at you, I’m directing it at you so that other players look and think ‘Jesus, if he’s having a go at him like that, how does he feel about me? I need to buck my ideas up”.
“That was the psychology side of the way Sir Alex went about things in his dressing rooms, and I think it’s still needed, and it needs to be done at certain times. This United team definitely needs it.”
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher reckons the current Man Utd side is the “worst” of his “lifetime” and he wonders how much worse it’s going to get.
Carragher told the Daily Telegraph: “No-one expected it would get even worse. When watching United now, the question I cannot shake off is: ‘How bad is this going to get?’
“This is the worst United team of my lifetime and the bare minimum that could have been expected after Amorim took charge, that the team would look like they are being coached better than they were under Ten Hag, has not materialised.”
Carragher had expected a similar transformation at Man Utd as the one Mikel Arteta oversaw at Arsenal, the Liverpool legend added: “There are many obvious similarities, from the lowly league position to a squad which needs rejuvenating as it has too many high-earning under-performers. But from day one you felt Arteta was moving Arsenal in the right direction.
“Amorim’s early struggles at United are a reminder of how tough it is to revive a fallen giant. At the moment, United fans must feel like they are pinning their hopes on blind faith based on Amorim’s record at Sporting Lisbon.
“United’s players have not responded well to his methods. Has a single player looked any better than they were under Ten Hag? In fairness, most of the United players have surrendered any right to express disapproval about any manager given how poor they have been for so long.”
