Michael Carrick sack? Gary Neville reveals why it’s gone ‘over the edge’ as he names ‘massive problem’ Man Utd face
Gary Neville insists the heat will grow on Michael Carrick if Manchester United fail to hit their stride soon after a hugely difficult start to the season was compounded by a disappointing draw at lowly Fulham, though the pundit has explained why the issues lie with the players rather than the manager himself.
United had to rely on a late Matheus Cunha strike to rescue a point at Craven Cottage, with Fulham having taken the lead thanks to Lisandro Martinez’s 63rd-minute own goal.
But while the point was certainly better than none, the manner of the performance, coupled with the fact that United have now taken just five points from their opening five games, their joint-lowest ever tally at this point in a Premier League season and the first time that has happened since 2014/15, has heaped massive pressure on Carrick’s head.
In light of that, Neville has insisted that sacking Carrick is not the answer and he needs to get more from his players if results are to improve.
In a lengthy rant for Sky Sports, Neville was asked if questions will soon be asked about Carrick with United sat 12th in the table.
“Of course they will ask questions about him. I mean, he knew that when he took the job, but there’s no, there’s no panic in that sense,” Neville said.
“No one’s talking about Michael Carrick and putting pressure on Michael Carrick in that sense.
“What I’m saying is, though, if those types of performances continue, he will find himself in a lot of trouble. They’ve got to work harder than that for him. I’m absolutely not changing my mind on that.
“Those players have got to work harder for Michael Carrick, or it will cause him a massive issue, because they didn’t work hard enough today. And that’s the biggest criticism I can give you.
“I think all of those players, and I’ve said I’ve liked them for six months of last season under Michael Carrick, they can all work a lot harder than that…”
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Continuing with his rant, Neville added: “They’re getting outrun in every single match, outrun in every single match.
“Let’s just deal with that as a basic to start with.
“Now I get the fact that someone will say, ‘Okay, we counterattack, and we don’t use as much energy’ and all that sort of stuff.
“They’re older, I get it, but is it a team that needs resetting from a point of view; it’s got too imbalanced from players who don’t want to actually do the ugly part of the game, and I think it’s just gone over the edge and too balanced the other way.”
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United return to action after the break with a clash against bottom-dwellers Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday 10 October, but it is three upcoming away games that follow afterwards that most concern Neville.
“The imbalance has gone too far the other way. They need to work harder defensively, or else they’ll have massive issues.
“They will not go to Como, Atletico Madrid, Leeds United, and get away with it. They might get away with it at Fulham. They’ll not get away with it in those games.”
