Jamie Redknapp believes “any manager in any league in England” could win back-to-back games against Ruben Amorim’s Man United.
The Red Devils defeated Sunderland before the international break, giving Amorim a much-needed victory for Manchester United, who are 11th in the Premier League and set to face arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Amorim is yet to win back-to-back Premier League games since taking over as Manchester United manager almost a year ago, with the Red Devils manager picking up just 37 points from 34 games.
There have been rumors that Amorim could be sacked if his poor performance continues, but manager Sir Jim Ratcliffe has hinted that the Portuguese could stay at Manchester United for another three years to give him a chance to prove himself.
Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher, who were in the Sky Sports studio with Redknapp on Sunday, said they doubted Amorim would last three years at Old Trafford.
After Ratcliffe’s comments, Keane said: “Listen, I think it’s probably a good thing to withdraw support from the club and the board, but obviously results need to improve. Of course I hope every manager is given time. Whether he can play for three years depends on what happens in the next few months.”
Read: Why Ruben Amorim is ‘really annoyed’ with Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes
“We said they were starting to improve a little bit at the beginning of the season and they have some attacking players so they are going to be a goal threat. “Especially at home they are improving at home and they did well at home against Sunderland so I fully expect them to win.”
“But the big test is still a game like today (against Liverpool). What kind of group are they? Are they going to come here today and show the quality they have going forward? Are they going to outperform? Are they going to be physical? Are they going to make the tackles? So there are still big question marks away from home. Yes, they’ve improved, but coming to Liverpool is a big test for me.”
“There are still big question marks in this United group. I don’t see it at the moment, but there are signs that things are going to get better in the future, but I’m still worried about the midfield physically, I’m worried about the defense, and then again, there’s still a question mark over the goalkeeping situation.”
Mr Carragher said: “I would actually like to comment on that comment because I understand what the owner is trying to do – he is trying to quell talk of the manager losing his job.”
“So he comes out to defend Manchester United. He talks about, you know, three years left to live. But there’s little use in saying that because no one believes it. No one believes for a second that Ruben Amorim will be Manchester United manager in three years.”
“If he said, ‘We have no plans to change coaches for the next 12 months,’ you’d think, ‘Okay, maybe they can go to the end of the season.’ Maybe the situation will improve. We’ll probably get someone in January. ‘It will almost feel like a vote of confidence to quell talk of the manager losing his job.
“But it’s been three years, and we all know that, as Roy just said, if things continue the way they are, unfortunately he’s going to lose his job. So even though he came forward to try to help himself, I don’t think ultimately comments like that actually helped him.”
More coverage from ManUTD on the F365…
👉 Amorim’s optimistic Manchester United goal came a year too late for Mainu and Zirkzee
👉 Manchester United takeover: UAE-based consortium ‘approaches’ David Beckham, bid ‘ready’
👉 Scholes and Butt furious about Manchester United becoming Man City. Ferdinand chooses three stars from the position.
Redknapp said before harshly criticizing Amorim for missing out on back-to-back wins at Man Utd: “When you’re a Man Utd manager and you don’t have back-to-back wins in the Premier League, you’re under intense pressure. I think you could use any manager in any league in England, but I’d like him to pick this Man Utd team and win back-to-back games, but that’s going to be the challenge.”
“And it shouldn’t be that difficult, but as Roy says, he makes it look difficult every week. Some weeks you look at him and say, ‘Oh, there are signs here, they have a chance, they have good players, they’re performing well.’ Then it’s just back to the same madness and the same substitutions. Forget about the system, he’s not going to change it no matter what we say.
“But you can’t be Manchester United manager and say you’re going to be there for another three years without winning a game. That doesn’t make any sense.
“That’s not the real world. And if a year later he’s still there and things don’t change, that’s what the fans will decide. They won’t suffer because they want change. They don’t like the situation the club is in.”
Read next: Man United takeover: Glazers’ reaction to shock rumors of UAE and consortium bid revealed
