Former skipper Roy Keane has blasted Manchester United players following their 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United.
Manchester United suffered their 14th league defeat of the season as they lost 4-1 to Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United away from home on Sunday night. It was yet another disappointing performance from Ruben Amorim’s team. They were second best in every department, and the scoreline reflected that.
Following their thrashing at the hands of the Magpies, former skipper Roy Keane, who was on punditry duty for Sky Sports, embarked on a brutal rant where he highlighted the fact that this group doesn’t have a strong mentality and that they need to bring in players who have experience of playing in the Premier League.
Roy Keane lashes out at United’s performance
While speaking to Sky Sports, the United legend said via the Daily Mirror, “That’s 14 league games they’ve lost now. We keep making excuses for this team. There are not enough players who can run in the team. I don’t think there are players who want to run. Not enough of a goal threat. You’ve got to dig deep, even when you’re up against it and they didn’t do that in the second half.
“We spoke at half-time [about] the big test was to come in the second half. Looking at Newcastle, they’re outstanding, they’re used to winning big games now, they’ve got into a really good habit. United are the opposite. I think United now are physically and mentally a weak team.
“Newcastle were too fast, too powerful, more determined. The pace they had up front, United couldn’t deal with their attacking players and they got what they deserved. Well done Newcastle, they were outstanding but United… this talk before the game about there are good signs, they’re getting better, well I can’t see it and I just saw another poor performance, particularly in the second half and I worry for this group of players, to me they don’t look like a strong group mentally.”
While a Sandro Tonali strike gave Newcastle United the lead, Alejandro Garnacho bagged the equaliser, and it was all square at half-time. They did manage to keep things tight in the first half, but Manchester United were just not good enough in the second half.
Yet again, defensive lapses proved costly as they conceded three in the second 45 and slumped to a 4-1 defeat. Keane slammed the players for a lack of effort, saying he expected a stronger response after the break, but felt some simply did not want to run.
He suggested that Manchester United have become a physically and mentally weak side. In contrast, Newcastle showed greater determination and hunger for the three points and ultimately made it count.
Keane calls for Premier League-proven signings
Now, the Red Devils need to shift their focus towards the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon. Having played out a 2-2 draw away from home in the first leg, they do need to put in a convincing performance at home to go through.
Keane was asked about potential changes to the lineup for the Lyon game, and he replied, “[Andre] Onana, Casemiro, [Harry] Maguire maybe but this is not a prime [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Wayne] Rooney coming back into the team. And that’s the strange thing about it, you’re thinking ‘have I missed somebody? Who is waiting to come back into the team? He’s world class, he’s going to the difference’.
“I know there’s some experience to come into the team and United are at home on a Thursday night to Lyon, you expect Man United to win that game. Lyon are sixth in the French league! Just to dismiss today’s match – I don’t think it’s good!
“What does help is if you start getting some sort of results, you start to dig in when you’re up against it, get some spirit into the group. I don’t want to use the dreaded word ‘recruitment’, but do they get some lads in the summer? Lads who are robust and know the league. The majority of those they’ve brought in over the last few years don’t know the league and I think it’s caught a lot of them out. I think you have to get some players who are used to the Premier League, who’ve played 100 or 200 games.
“It’s about getting the right characters – we hear about Liverpool, Brentford, Bournemouth – this group (United) don’t show that. They’re not robust, they don’t roll up their sleeves and dig out results.
“You look at certain teams in the Premier League and you hang your hat on one thing – they’re big and strong, they’re technically brilliant – but you look at United and you ask what they’re really good at… They’ve not got a world-class striker, they’ve not got a strong spine, they’re not athletic. So you look at United and you say, ‘I’m not sure what they’re good at!’ They’re not really good at anything! They’ve got some half-decent players but the table doesn’t lie.”
While Roy Keane did mention that Onana, Casemiro, and Maguie could return to their XI for the game against Lyon, he highlighted the fact that they are not world-class players who will take them to the next level. They will certainly add a lot of experience, and that should help them get the job done against Lyon in this Europa League.
A few wins in a row can certainly help the Red Devils, but the former skipper feels the club needs to make changes to their transfer approach. They need to bring in players who better understand the league and are ready to meet the physical demands of the Premier League.
While Manchester United have signed quality players in recent times, the demands of the English top flight have exposed weaknesses in most of them. Teams like Liverpool, Bournemouth, and Brentford each have a clear identity, whether it is through strength or technical brilliance, but United seem to lack a distinct style of play.
Keane went on to suggest that Manchester United have some half-decent players, and he is not really sure what they are good at. Given how the season has unfolded, the Red Devils will have to view the summer transfer window as a chance to reshape the squad and provide Ruben Amorim with the players he needs to bounce back.
