Manchester United succumbed to an embarrassing 1-4 Premier League defeat at the hands of Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim decided to make quite a few changes to his team for the contest and it is safe to say that most of them backfired with Altay Bayindir at fault for the hosts fourth while Christian Eriksen was non-existent in midfield.
Joshua Zirkzee picked up an injury that could mean he misses the rest of the season and it was a day to forget for the Red Devils who dropped down to 14th in the table and will record their lowest-ever points tally in the competition’s history.
Skipper Bruno Fernandes came out fighting after the game, claiming his teammates tried to be brave which ultimately led to them making mistakes while also promising a much-improved display on Thursday for the club’s crucial Europa League quarter-final second leg tie against Olympique Lyonnais.
Keane rubbishes Bruno’s comments
The match is delicately balanced at 2-2 after the first leg and United’s season rests on the game as they look to secure Champions League qualification for next season, which could prove crucial in the transfer market.
United legend Roy Keane was having none of it, claiming the United skipper was being unnecessary soft on his lacklustre teammates when he should be more critical and demand from them.
“It is not easy and, to be fair to Bruno, he does front up and the club push him out because he is the best player and captain,” Keane was quoted as saying by MEN. “To me, it is just sound bites from him now.
“Let’s hope they win on Thursday by the way – that’s all they are talking about. Lyon are sixth in the French league, I fully expect United to beat Lyon.
“He is talking about players and his belief in them – what about his right-back who didn’t put a foot in (for the second goal)? I hope he is pulling (Diogo) Dalot in the dressing room. He keeps talking about his teammates, a real good teammate puts demands on each other.
Bluffers
“Whether that’s out on the pitch, in the dressing room or on the training ground. I listen to Bruno Fernandes, an amazing player but I still have question marks about his leadership. He is talking about the bigger picture, his usual stuff, but he is certainly not getting any help around him.
“When you are playing for Man United, you need a helping hand. But when he is doing the chat about the supporters, to me it’s just… sound bites. There is no meaning to it. I don’t know how we can listen to the United players doing interviews anymore because I am not sure they are an honest group.”
Not only that, the former defensive midfielder claimed the players simply cannot pick and choose their battles as at a club like United, every game is a must-win game.
“When you play for a big club and they have turned up in certain games, but they pick and choose their games – whether it is Man City or Liverpool. The mindset playing for Manchester United should be that every game is a big game.
“So today wasn’t a big game – that’s the attitude of some of them – but Thursday is a big game. I think you are in trouble if you start picking and choosing what is a big game.
Cannot pick and choose your battles
“Their whole attitude should be – every game is a big game and you give your all. In the second half, when they were giving the ball away cheaply, not making tackles or making demands of each other… the best players I played with put demands on me.
“They are not teammates, they are bluffers. This group, they have lost 14 games this season, lost 14 games last season – everyone can have a difficult spell so what do we expect when players come out and chat after games? They are media trained and will be told stuff to say.
“They talk about pundits and ex-players, we are here to give an opinion. I would love to sit here and watch Man United and say they are great to watch but I don’t see it with these players and I have seen it too many times now.
“Whatever they are doing at the training ground isn’t enough because we are not seeing it out there. All we heard before the match was about resting players for next Thursday – what about today’s match? Does that mean anything to anybody? What is the point in us turning up here?”
Keane has been over-critical at times but his words made a lot of sense on Sunday. Hopefully, the players can respond on the pitch on Thursday. Their season depends on it.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
