Gary Neville has said he is “worried” for Ruben Amorim’s future at Manchester United after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, with fellow legend Wayne Rooney believing the side has gotten “worse.”
United succumbed to their second league defeat of the season, leaving them 14th in the Premier League with just four points after four games. They were also embarrassingly dumped out of the Carabao Cup in the second round against Grimsby Town.
“I want to be as supportive and positive as I can be on the manager and the players,” Rooney said on his BBC podcast, the Wayne Rooney show.
“But it is very difficult to sit here and say we are seeing progression, and at least we’re seeing things that will get results in the near future. We’re seeing none of that, and it is very difficult. There was an image towards the end of the game where I saw the Manchester United fans leaving.
“You could hear the fans singing Amorim’s name, but I think that is so powerful that the United fans were leaving the game.
“You know the game is over and I think they were very disappointed in what they were seeing. It is hard to see how it continues.
“What are the patterns? What are we seeing what might improve the team moving forward?”
He added: “I think after the last year when Ten Hag got sacked and Ruben came in, we’re hearing how they’re going to play and it is going to change. I think if the manager is honest with himself, it has got worse.”
Neville echoed Rooney’s concerns, although he played down any talk of “panic.”
“I think there will be some pressure applied to the manager and his rigidity of sticking with the system,” Neville said on Sky Sports after Sunday’s game.
“There have been times when I have seen United lose this type of match when I feel angry and frustrated. “I just feel nothing, which is even worse. This has been a nothing of a performance. United have just been beaten.
“With Chelsea next week, another defeat and big questions would start to be asked.
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“I’m worried about the manager, I’m worried about what’s going to happen in this next few weeks. I don’t think it’s a time for panic, but I’ve seen this before, we’ve seen this film.”
United will reveal the full extent of their financial problems when the club publishes its annual accounts on Wednesday — six months after minority owner Jim Ratcliffe said the 20-time Premier League champions risked running out money before the end of 2025.
United, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, issued a statement to investors late on Friday to confirm that the club’s fourth quarter accounts covering the financial year until June 30 will be published at 7 a.m. ET (12 p.m. BST) on Sept. 17.
