Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has urged manager Michael Carrick to stop defending his players publicly after their disappointing 1-1 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
United avoided a third consecutive league defeat after Matheus Cunha’s late deflected effort cancelled out Lisandro Martinez’s own goal.
However, the performance drew fierce criticism from Neville, who questioned the team’s work rate and warned that continued displays of that nature could put Carrick under pressure.
Neville said: “Michael has got to stop defending them. I get why he’s defending them; he’s loyal, he wants his players to work for him, and obviously there’s a long way to go in the season.
“Michael is of course saying something different to us than he is saying privately.
“That would’ve really worried me. People will ask questions about him, but he knew that when he took the job.
“But there’s no panic in that sense – no one is putting pressure on Carrick – but 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.”
Neville was particularly critical of United’s performance without the ball and the lack of intensity shown during the match.
He said: “I’ve never seen a Man Utd team walk out of possession as much as that.
“Michael has just said there was nothing wrong with the team’s energy.
“Both teams were the same. I called them mannequins. I’ve never seen a United team walk around as much as that. No alertness, no aliveness. No ‘on your toes’. You should always be on your toes.
“I’m always very careful to say that, but in those first 15 minutes of that second half, Man Utd and generally for the first 60 minutes, were a genuine disgrace. Nowhere near good enough without the ball.”
The result came after United’s back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Brighton, increasing scrutiny around the team’s performances under Carrick.
Neville’s criticism focused heavily on the players’ effort and defensive intensity, while warning that Carrick will face greater questions should the performances continue.
