Gary Neville has suggested that Man United boss Ruben Amorim doesnât like two of his players.
Amorim, 40, has endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford since arriving from Sporting Lisbon in November, losing eight of his first 19 games in charge.
The most recent of these came on Sunday when the Red Devils suffered a demoralising 2-0 home defeat by Crystal Palace to leave them languishing in 13th place in the Premier League and 14 points off the top four.
Amorim made the bold move to bench both of Unitedâs recognised strikers in Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund for the clash, instead picking Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine.
However, the move was unsuccessful as Jean-Philippe Mateta netted a brace and while Zirkzee and Hojlund â who together cost the club more than ÂŁ100million â were introduced in the second half, they failed to make an impact on the game.
And, speaking after the match, Neville felt Amorimâs team selection was a mistake, while he hinted that the Portuguese coach wasnât a fan of the striking pair.
Gary Neville has suggested Man United boss Ruben Amorim doesnât like two of his playersÂ

Amorim made the bold decision to leave Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund on the bench

He instead deployed Kobbie Mainoo as a false nine for the clash against Crystal Palace
âThe only thing I can think is that itâs one of two things,â he told The Gary Neville Podcast. âMaybe itâs experimenting to the point whereby heâs just trying to find a solution that works and he likes and a system he wants to play. Or he doesnât like the strikers heâs got.
âWhen I saw the teamsheet, I thought Fernandes would play in that position or Garnacho. When I saw Kobbie up there, everything has to be absolutely perfect.Â
âFrom Palaceâs point of view, they would fancy that because thereâs no real goalscorer in the team.
âIâm not saying if Hojlund was up there theyâd panic but at least then thereâs a physical presence. Zirkzee is a big lad.Â
âIâm not saying theyâre brilliant these players but I couldnât really see how United would score. Whereâs it going to come from?â
Zirkzee and Hojlund have both endured difficult campaigns for the club, with the Dutch star having scored just three Premier League goals, while the Dane has netted twice in the top flight.
United had hoped to bring in attacking reinforcements in January but despite links with Mathys Tel, the Bayern Munich star ultimately joined Tottenham, although they did add wingback Patrick Dorgu and defender Ayden Heaven.
And Neville went onto insist that while Amorim may have been keen to strengthen in attack, if he wants to salvage something from this season, he has to put in faith at those at his disposal.

Unitedâs defeat by Palace left them in the 13th in the Premier League, 14 points off the top four
âHe wonât be enjoying this but I think heâs got to simplify it,â he added. âWhile he might not like Hojlund, he might not think Zirkzee is great, he might not like other players, but heâs got to pick the players he has, the players heâs been served.Â
âIt canât keep going on as it is, they need to start to play better but where is that coming from? At this moment in time itâs a very sorry situation watching Manchester United play.â
Meanwhile, Neville also launched a scathing assessment of the first few months of the Amorim era, which has seen United lose five of their seven home league matches.
Despite the clubâs torrid form, he predicted that things will go even further downhill before the end of the campaign, and said that their current progression â or lack thereof â could hinder next seasonâs plans too.Â
âI thought it would get better when Ruben Amorim came in,â he said. âI thought the enthusiasm and the new system, I thought theyâd buy into it the players, and weâd see a bounce.Â
âWeâve seen the absolute opposite. Itâs got a lot worse and thatâs surprising.â
He continued: âBut thereâs going to be a lot more pain towards the end of the season and it is going to be damaging.Â
âTheyâre obviously going to stick with Ruben Amorim, but the more you lose, the more difficult it is to convince the players of the idea. The idea that he talked about in the early days.Â
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âYou need the players to buy into it, but if they lose with it, and they keep getting criticised, the spotlight comes on them more and the fans are leaving unhappy.
âYou canât keep losing. It will depress the thoughts of the players, to the point whereby theyâll lose faith with the idea.Â
âItâll damage the start of next season. He has to do something. He canât change his approach because heâs died in a ditch on it. And rightly so. I think heâs lost more games at Manchester United since heâs comein than he lost in the last 75 at Sporting.â
United return to action on Friday when they entertain Leicester in the FA Cup fourth round.Â