Neville picks the ‘six players minimum’ Amorim needs in Man Utd squad overhaul

Gary Neville insists it’s too early to judge both Ruben Amorim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe despite their poor starts to life at Manchester United.

The Red Devils have the chance of claiming a trophy with the Europa League final to come on Wednesday against Tottenham, with victory also seeing them qualify for the Champions League next season.

But Amorim has admitted this may be “the worst” United team in history, with his side currently 16th in the Premier League having lost 18 of their 37 games this season.

READ: Ruben Amorim sack calls despite ‘bonkers’ trophy chance for Man Utd

There have been suggestions Amorim could be sacked or even resign at the end of the season, but Neville insists he needs time to “embed” and picked the six players required as a “minimum” this summer.

“What they need to do now is to create some stability,” Neville told The Athletic. “There has been a lot of instability off the pitch in respect of the non-playing staff and there has been a lot of instability on the pitch with the changes of manager and changes to the squad. That has got to stop at some point and they’ve got to embed in Ruben’s team, let them develop.

“I think this time next year we’ll know a lot more, when we see whether Ruben can build a successful team. Christmas next year we’ll know a lot more, because I think Ruben needs to get that second transfer window.

“He needs a proper pre-season with the team to embed this system and this style of play. We’ll know a lot more in October, November, December when I’m sure they’ll be winning more matches than they are now.

“It needs a big overhaul in the summer. Five or six players minimum to be able to change the direction of how he wants to play. There’s at least two forwards, a central midfield player, definitely two wing backs and another centre-back. They need six players minimum.

“Ruben has been very good at identifying the players he wants out of the club; that’s really clear to everybody. The club’s job now is to get them out and get replacements in that he likes and wants in his team.”

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Ratcliffe has also endured a difficult start to life at Old Trafford having taken control of football operations a little over a year ago.

The British billionaire has made at least 17 mistakes in that time having embarked on a significant cost-cutting regime.

And while Neville admits “two or three things have not gone well”, like Amorim, he believes it’s too early to judge the part-owner.

“There’s no doubt that in the first 12 months of his ownership, there are two or three things he would have done differently,” Neville explains. “The reality is it’s such a big club, there is such a lot to do and there was so much wrong with it when he came in, I think he has got to be given some time to be able to develop a successful football club again.

“It hasn’t been successful at the levels that United would want, winning Premier League titles and Champions Leagues, for 10 years — so it is a transition period where the new ownership are building new foundations.

“I always say it takes three years, four years to be able to embed something and he’s only 12 months in, so we need to give him time.

“They’re very much in the embryonic stages of a stadium project, a training ground project and building a new team on the pitch. To say 12 months in whether it’s going to be a failure or success is too difficult.

“There is two or three things that have not gone very well and been quite unpopular, but there are also massive changes that needed to occur.

“When you’re going into a club that basically has had sustained failure for 10 years and has recruited badly, you’re going to upset things along the way. You might make some decisions that ultimately are with a blunt tool, but the reality is change was required. It definitely was required.”

Regarding the vital match against Tottenham, Neville added: “That game is making my stomach churn with its level of importance, to both clubs.

“Not just from a silverware perspective, not just from a manager’s perspective, but also from a finance perspective; what it gives both clubs in terms of attracting players and the money that it will put into the clubs.

“It’s making me a little bit sick.”