Gary Neville says Ruben Amorim will need two or three transfer windows to build a squad at Manchester United that can play his system.
United are 15th in the table after Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham ensured Amorim has secured just four wins from his first 14 Premier League games in charge.
Amorim wanted to delay his appointment at Old Trafford until the summer, reluctant to leave Sporting mid-season after Erik ten Hag’s sacking, but was told it was now or never.
Results have deteriorated further under Amorim, but he is adamant that he will stick to his three-at-the-back system despite having limited time on the training ground to implement his ideas.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Tottenham Hotspur’s win against Manchester United in the Premier League
Amorim has said United have to sell to buy in the summer, potentially limiting their ability to shape the team in the head coach’s image, and Neville fears it could take him some time to build the right squad.
“How quickly can Amorim, not just get good players in, but get players who can fit into this system?” the Sky Sports pundit said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“It’s a peculiar system, 3-4-3. It’s a system where you’ve got to find two midfield players who are good enough to play with each other and cover a lot of ground.
“You’ve got to find three centre-backs – with two of the outside ones capable of playing out wide in the full-back areas, when the wing-backs go forward.
“So you’re asking for specialists throughout the team. It’s not like other systems which are a little bit more forgiving.
“How quickly can Amorim and the recruitment team at United get to a point where they can adapt this squad into a 3-4-3 squad?
“It’s going to be a minimum of two to three transfer windows because of the investment that’s been made and we know clubs on the edge of PSR.
“They’ve lost £300m in the last three years, so there’s a real struggle and a real fight to be able to spend the money that they need in the transfer market as well. There’s been a lot of waste in the last few years”.
‘Bruno only Man Utd player that would get in Spurs team’
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Sky Sports News’ Football Show pundit Stephen Warnock discusses how Manchester United’s system is hindering their ability to score goals
Neville says captain Bruno Fernandes is the only Manchester United player that would get into the Tottenham team based on their performance levels since signing for the club.
“You’d want to have Bruno in there,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “Maybe Amad, but to be honest with you, you’ve got [Dejan] Kulusevski or Amad, I’ll be honest with you, I think I’d be going with Kulusevski.
“Every single Tottenham player, probably barring one, if they were all available, is better than every single Manchester United player. And that’s not being emotional, it’s not ranting anymore, we’ve gone past that now.
“It’s just really sad that’s where Manchester United are currently at. But these players, is that the level that you thought those players were at, the Manchester United squad players were at, when they were signed?
“No. It’s what happens to them when they get here. And we’ve seen players the other way, when they’ve left, actually start to thrive again.
“What’s happening in the club at this moment in time, there’s a lot of redundancies off the pitch, there is a lot of uncertainty on the pitch.
“They’ve had a manager sacked this season already, it’s not easy to perform in that environment. It’s been the same for 10 years and it’s still not changing at this moment in time.
“Hopefully in the next two or three years, Ruben Amorim is given the time to be able to build a successful team and squad. But every single Tottenham player gets into their first XI.”
