Manchester United legend Gary Neville has spoken out in support of Red Devils head coach and former teammate Michael Carrick in the aftermath of Sunday's 3-0 loss against Bournemouth.
Neville expects Man United to sack Carrick, who was appointed as head coach after a positive second interim spell last season, but places the blame for the club's difficulties on decisions behind the scenes and the application of the players on the pitch.
Goals from Rayan, Marcus Tavernier and Evanilson concluded a miserable week for United after a dismal Champions League loss at Como and the subsequent comments of captain Bruno Fernandes.
Gary Neville tells Man United players they shoulder the blame
"Michael's still very early in his managerial career and people like [Louis] van Gaal and [Jose] Mourinho have been eaten alive here," Neville said on The Gary Neville Podcast after Sunday's miserable defeat at Old Trafford.
"So for Michael, he's seen what's happened to Ruben Amorim, he's seen what's happened to Erik ten Hag, he's seen what's happened to Ralf Rangnick, he's seen what's happened to Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer]. The warning signs were there and they've fallen for it.
"This group of players who've been getting managers sacked for a number of years now and underperforming... they've teased him, haven't they? They've conned him for a few months. They have. They've conned him."
United's fortunes turned around after Amorim was removed and Carrick installed in his place. They lost just twice after the turn of the year and won five of their last six Premier League matches to secure third place and a return to the Champions League.
Having been brought up in the Alex Ferguson era, Neville is consistently outspoken and renowned for expecting high standards of Man United players. The current squad, with a few exceptions acknowledged by Neville in an emotional speech from the gantry at Old Trafford, falls short.
The Sky Sports pundit noted that Fernandes and Lisandro Martinez, who has also spoken out in public this month and was left out of the starting line-up along with the captain, have lost the vocal support of the Old Trafford crowd in a way Carrick has not.
Their comments represented a 'direct attack on Michael Carrick' and their speaking out in public probably amounts to just a fraction of what they're actually thinking.
A couple of senior players have criticised either the club or Carrick in recent weeks and Carrick is damning of the overall standards of the squad, hinting that there are players in the first team squad aren't meeting their behavioural expectations off the pitch and saying that living locally is all that's needed to know that.
Carrick is now on the brink. United have beaten Sabah in the Champions League and Ipswich Town in the Premier League, two wins in 12 matches in all competitions.
Their next four matches pit them against Chelsea, Roma, Aston Villa and Liverpool. How many of those games Carrick takes charge of is anyone's guess.
