Neville urges Amorim to fix THREE key issues at Man Utd

Cameron Smith

• 4 Nov 2024 11:05 GMT
• 3 min read

Gary Neville has urged Ruben Amorim to fix three key areas when he officially joins Manchester United later this month.

The 39-year-old has been appointed as Erik ten Hag’s permanent replacement at Old Trafford, following the Dutchman’s dismissal last week, although his first game in charge won’t come until 24 November due to a notice period in his Sporting CP contract.

The Red Devils have endured their worst ever start to a Premier League season, amassing just 12 points from their opening 10 games, while they have drawn all three of their Europa League fixtures so far this campaign.

READ MORE: Gyokeres breaks silence on joining Amorim at Man Utd

Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently in interim charge at Old Trafford, but he will step down when Amorim arrives ahead of the November international break.

The Portuguese tactician has already requested several new signings in January, as per multiple reports, while Man Utd legend Neville has urged the 39-year-old to play on the “front-foot.”

Furthermore, in his Sky Sports column, Neville detailed three key areas that Amorim must immediately address upon his arrival at Old Trafford.

READ MORE: 'Ruben Amorim needs Harry Maguire'

What has Gary Neville said?

“It was sober reading about how high Manchester United play up the pitch,” Neville said.

“When I looked at the average start distance of the teams up the pitch, Manchester City are first, Arsenal second, Liverpool third, Tottenham fourth and Brighton are fifth. Manchester United are down in tenth.

“If 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.”

He continued: “The other metric was possession won in the final third. So possession won high up the pitch: first was Manchester City, second was Tottenham, third was Arsenal and fourth was Liverpool. Manchester United are ninth.

“The final one I asked for was the highest turnovers,” Neville added. “City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal made up the top four while Manchester United were ninth.

“These three things are critical to performance levels.

“Man Utd played like a team that sat behind the ball. '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.”