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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has received backlash from Gary Neville following his side’s 3-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest.
Two things have been consistent in the early days of Amorim’s reign at United. Firstly, the ex-Sporting CP boss has ensured a clear identity and approach is there for everyone to see; and secondly, he has heavily rotated his team in all of his games in charge of the Red Devils.
After the 2-0 defeat at Arsenal, Amorim made four changes to his starting lineup for the home clash against Forest. The result, however, was not very different, as Nuno Espírito Santo’s men took home all three points.
Back-to-back defeats have led to question marks over the new gaffer’s decision-making, with Neville suggesting Amorim’s constant chopping and changing is sending the wrong message.
Speaking on NBC Sports (via the Mirror), Neville said: “When you keep changing players, when you keep changing your back three, when you take five players off, you’re basically saying to all of them effectively – because they’ve been left out of the starting XI – you don’t trust them.”
The United legend pointed out that Erik ten Hag was doing the same during his final days at the club, leading to lack of stability and consistency.
Shining light on what happened against Forest, Neville added that Amorim should’ve left the players on, as they weren’t playing that bad in the first -half. As the game progressed, changes made from the touchline eventually led to United looking like a “mess” with “no real shape.”
Neville continued: “I think I said this for Ten Hag for 12 months, pick an XI that you think are the best. We thought that XI today apart from Luke Shaw was close to Manchester United ’s best XI you can get.”
While it is important for any manager to swiftly find his best XI, Amorim deserves plenty of time to test all players at his disposal before making any major decisions on their short-term and long-term futures at the club.
Further, it is crucial to manage their minutes during the busy December schedule.
Amorim was critical of himself in his post-match press conference, accepting his responsibility for the Mancunian giants’ struggles during set-piece defending.
Arsenal scored both of their goals at the Emirates from corner routines and Forest also dealt United an early blow from a corner kick, as Nikola Milenkovic outmuscled Lisandro Martinez to rattle Andre Onana’s net within two minutes of kickoff.
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