Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim believes Gary Neville’s comments on the robotic nature of his side are “quite fair”, but he was quick to defend their approach.
Neville’s suggestion that United were micromanaged too heavily came after an uninspired 0-0 draw in the Manchester derby last weekend.
United toiled in that game against a below-par Manchester City side, managing just two shots on target from their 13 total attempts, operating at a modest 0.91 expected goals.
The result left them 13th in the table with 38 points, putting them closer to 17th-placed Wolves, who are six points behind them, than they are to the top half of the table, with 10th-placed Bournemouth on 45 points.
“They’re micromanaged within an inch of their lives – so robotic, that game – and quite symptomatic, actually, of a lot of games that we’re watching nowadays,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “It’s not good enough. I feel disappointed.
“It’s a Manchester derby and it should have more blood, thunder, and risk, and courage involved in playing the game and trying to win the game than that.”
Amorim acknowledged that given United’s current performances, such comments are not unwarranted.
“In this game, they are seeing the games and in our moment, with the season that we are doing, we have to accept it and this is quite fair,” he said, speaking to Sky Sports.
“Sometimes at the end of the game, you don’t like it because you are trying really hard to change things and they are talking about your players.
“But then, one day later, you can understand. It’s fair and I understand what he’s saying.”
United have failed to score in eight Premier League matches since Amorim took over in November last year, with only relegation-certainties Leicester City failing to score in more games (13 for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side).
Despite United’s poor numbers and lack of momentum going into the business end of the season, Amorim has insisted his side are adapting to the modern progression of the game and that tactical structure is now fundamental to success.
“The game is completely different and you have to be so good in your base and then that individual aspect and the freedom and the fluidity of the game is going to appear. But, for that, I think we need time,” he said.
“There was an evolution, you can like it or not, but there was an evolution because you have all the games from the opponent’s detail, from your departments, so you can understand better the movements that they make.
“In that evolution, you have to be better tactically. Sometimes I talk to [Darren] Fletcher, about how he prepared the games with Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s completely different.
“There was more a feeling, that aspect of the individual talent. I think today, that is not enough and you can see some of the best teams, especially if you remember the years of [Real Madrid’s] Galacticos, they had maybe the best players in the world, but you need to have a connection.”
Ruben shares his verdict on today’s Manchester derby #MUFC || #MUNMCI
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 6, 2025
Amorim has previously acknowledged the importance of individuals stepping up, but he believes United cannot win games relying solely on that.
“We cannot win the games just like I said with the individual aspect and let the players do whatever they feel. I don’t see the game like that,” the 39-year-old asserted.
“I see the game in a different way and again, nowadays, they know everything about our players. The way [Alejandro] Garnacho will use the right foot on the left side, every detail the opponent knows.
“So we need to have an idea of how to play as a team and then expect the individual part to help us. Because in the end, that is the crucial point to make a difference in the game.
“Sometimes we lack that creativity in the last third, sometimes the quality. And when I talk about the quality, it’s not just the individual quality, it’s the understanding of the game in the final third.
“So I want to see both because I want to entertain people, but I also like to see my team defending like they defended in this game.”
United now turn focus from their disappointing Premier League campaign to the Europa League, where they face Lyon in the quarter-finals.
Amorim’s only chance at silverware this season – as well as United’s only hope of qualifying for the Champions League next season – hinges on their performances in Europe.
They travel to France for the first leg this Thursday before facing Newcastle United at the weekend, with the second leg set to be played at Old Trafford next week.
