Gary Neville warned that Manchester United could be in for a “worrying few weeks” if their players don’t “get a grip” on their season after they were booed in their draw with Spurs.
Michael Carrick’s side’s poor start to the campaign continued as Dominic Solanke’s 92nd-minute goal rescued a point for the 10-man visitors at Old Trafford on Saturday.
There were boos from the home fans, both at half-time and full-time, as United extended their winless run to four games in all competitions, keeping them 12th in the Premier League.
They now face a daunting run of fixtures, starting with a Champions League away game against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday before Sunday’s Premier League trip to Elland Road to face Leeds, live on Sky Sports.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from the game between Man Utd and Spurs
Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, Neville questioned the midfield pairing of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo and said the side’s plight could worsen if their players don’t show improvement.
“Tielemans and Mainoo, I think we’ve seen enough of it now,” Neville said.
“I’m not calling time on it because that’s probably too drastic but I’ve seen enough to think that’s not a midfield that’s dynamic enough to play at this football club in the Premier League.
“I think they are both good players, by the way, individually. But sometimes you just have players that don’t quite knit together or don’t quite suit each other.
“I think when [Carlos] Baleba came on with Mainoo, it looked like there was a lot more energy.
Spurs missed a succession of chances to go ahead before Man Utd’s opener
“There’s going to have to be something done in there, and the rest of them are going to have to get a grip because they are going to a Diego Simeone Atletico Madrid and Elland Road.
“If you’re not quite right there from a mental and physical perspective, you’re going to get found out.
“They’ve got a couple of days to recover, pick themselves up from this, and get going because if they don’t get going, it’s going to be a worrying few weeks.”
‘Fans are turning quite quickly’
Neville felt the boos inside Old Trafford weren’t aimed at head coach Carrick but described the performance as “worrying” and said supporters are picking up on a lack of effort and energy from the players.
“It was worrying because I think that the three-week break was the reset moment,” he added. “This was the start of a big period of eight games in 28 days.
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Speaking after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, Gary Neville questioned the energy and enthusiasm of Michael Carrick’s side
“What I really would have expected today from Manchester United was a really enthusiastic, energetic performance from minute one.
“I didn’t see an enthusiastic, energetic performance from those red shirts for an hour, and Spurs should have been three or four-nil up.
“I think the fans will stay with the project. I don’t think the boos are against Michael Carrick for one minute. But what I would say is that they’re turning quite quickly.
“Manchester United fans are incredibly loyal, beyond loyal, to their managers and to their players, but what they won’t accept is a lack of energy.
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Gary Neville feels the midfield partnership of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo lacks dynamism and is not up to the required standard
“They won’t accept a lack of what they deem to be effort. I don’t like saying effort, but the reality is they’re not running enough, they’re not showing enough tenacity, determination, fighting spirit. They’re just not.
“They booed after 22 minutes, they booed at half-time, and they booed at the end. That tells you that they’re really, really despondent with what they’re watching.
“My daughter comes and watches every single week. She texted me at half-time, ‘What’s that?’ My daughter’s 16 years of age. You can’t kid or con a football fan
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Manchester United defender Harry Maguire was seen saying ‘bye bye’ and waving Rodrigo Bentancur off the pitch after his red card
“No matter who they are, they know what they’re watching.
“I don’t mind winning here, don’t mind losing here, but there’s got to be a massive amount of effort and it can’t be boring, simple as that.
“You can have a shootout and lose 4-2 and think, ‘OK, well at least we saw a Manchester United that went forward with verve and all those things that you’d expect’.
Bryan Mbeumo’s goal was cancelled out by Dominic Solanke
“But what we’re seeing at the moment is a team that looks like they’re curling up in a ball. For some of them right now, it looks like the club is getting a bit big for them.
“A lot of them have played well last season here, by the way, but it just looks like now it’s coming on top for them a little bit and it’s starting to just get to them.
“It did a little bit under Ruben Amorim towards the end where they just started to go a little bit like that.
“So look, Michael Carrick has got to get something out of them, the boos I don’t think are against him, but the pressure’s on him, the questions are obviously always with the manager, and you just hope they can come out of it in these next few weeks.”
Man Utd’s next five fixtures
Oct 13: Atletico Madrid vs Man Utd, Champions League
Oct 18: Leeds vs Man Utd, Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Oct 21: Como vs Man Utd, Champions League
Oct 25: Man Utd vs Bournemouth, Premier League, live on Sky Sports
Oct 31: Chelsea vs Man Utd, Premier League, live on Sky Sports