"That's got to change" – Gary Neville highlights 3 things Ruben Amorim must do to improve Manchester United
Manchester United great Gary Neville has urged newly-appointed Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim to improve three metrics at the club.
The Red Devils, who are 13th in the Premier League standings with 12 points from 10 games, have been dreadful so far this season. They have netted just nine goals and conceded 12 goals in the league so far.
After Manchester United's 1-1 home league draw against Chelsea, the ex-Valencia boss shared his thoughts on the potential improvements under Amorim. He said on his podcast (h/t Football65):
"You want to push your defence up the pitch, which is what I think every team looks to do nowadays. Amorim has got to start with that because Manchester United quite often have to travel 70, 80 yards to score a goal because they're so deep and they play like the underdog in games."
Revealing two other areas of improvement, Neville continued:
"The other metric is possession won in the final third. So possession won high up the pitch... first was Manchester City, second was Tottenham Hotspur, third was Arsenal, and fourth was Liverpool. United are ninth. The final one is the highest turnovers. City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal make up the top four while United are ninth. These three things are critical to performance levels."
Neville, who won eight Premier League titles as a player, concluded:
"United played like a team that is sat behind the ball [against Chelsea]. 'Let's try and get them on the counter or score from a set piece'. That's got to change. You've got to be a team of dominance. And I mean dominance. I mean dominating the ball in the final third, dominating your forwards and staying high up the pitch."
Manchester United forward backed to impress
Manchester United interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has claimed that Joshua Zirkzee will soon prove to be a good signing for the Old Trafford outfit. He said (h/t X/@FabrizioRomano):
"Joshua Zirkzee will be a great player for Manchester United. He has a lot of talent, good age, lots of potential to develop, one that we have to look after and give him time. He will get better and better and will be a very good player."
Since arriving from Italian side Bologna for around £36 million, Zirkzee has started seven of his 15 overall matches for the Red Devils. The 23-year-old Dutchman has registered one goal and two assists for them.
Last season, the former Bayern Munich striker scored 12 goals and laid out seven assists in 37 games across all competitions for Bologna.