Jamie Carragher says he was stunned when Ruben Amorim called his Manchester United team 'arguably the worst' in the club's history and believes it could backfire on the head coach.
The United boss gave his brutal assessment of his side after the 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton, a result that leaves the Old Trafford side languishing in 13th place in the Premier League.
“In ten games in the Premier League we have won two,” Amorim said. “We may be the worst team in the history of Manchester United. I know you want the headlines, but I say that because we need to recognize that and change that. Please, your headlines.”
Carragher says United's problems are clear to see this season and Amorim's strong words will only lead to further criticism of the club and its players.
“I don't know the history of Man Utd as well as Gary Neville does, but I have to say it was one of the most bizarre and ridiculous things I've ever heard a manager say,” Carragher said on Sky Sports News ahead of Monday Night Football.
“Why you would make a comment like that… that's the kind of comment an expert would make, someone in my position, and you should defend it. I don't know what he benefits from that, what the advantage is.
“We all know it's a bad Man Utd team. They lost another game at home to Brighton, they've done that in recent years anyway. We know it's a difficult season, we know it's a bad team is.” just loosened it. That will be a quote that will follow him for the rest of the season.
“He said to the journalists there: 'I will give you the head'. Why you would want to do that as a manager, I will never know.”
Carragher believes the comments are unlikely to go down well with the squad and Amorim could face a problem as he tries to motivate them ahead of this season's matches.
“It doesn't help you move forward with confidence,” Carragher said when asked about the impact of Amorim's words on the players.
“I don't have much sympathy for the players in the Man Utd dressing room, they have been a joke for a few years. A few weeks ago, after they played against Liverpool, where Lisandro Martinez was talking about the mentality that was different – I could hardly stop laughing when I saw that. Man Utd have thrown in the towel with poor performances over the last four or five years.
“What I would say is, how can the manager go into the dressing room between now and the end of the season and constantly try to build them up and give them the belief to beat the opposition, whoever they face, when he said they don't.” I'm one of the worst teams in Man Utd history. At no point can I see what he will gain from it.”
Man Utd transfers: better to postpone until summer, says Carra
As for United's poor form, Carragher insists they should hold off on big signings until the summer when they will have a better chance of bringing in the players Amorim needs to make his system work.
“I don't think he will get the players he wants in January. We know it is a difficult market to sell players or bring in players. It is doubly difficult this season because the European competitions have entered January,” said Carragher.
“If I'm Man Utd I would keep my powder dry this summer. There will be a lot more movement there, where you can bring players in and also take them out. What you don't want to do is ultimately spend money and then go to the going into the summer thinking these players aren't good enough to improve this team or the system.
“They will have to go through a lot of pain, we all know that and we accept that. I don't think there is too much criticism around the manager. They have achieved some good results away from home.” against Arsenal in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the Premier League.
“We know it's going to be a rollercoaster because the players aren't good enough – they've shown that with different managers and different systems.
“I can't get away from the quote he said, I don't believe it was in his best interest.”
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