Manchester United legend Denis Irwin insists Ruben Amorim is not to blame for their terrible form.
Amorim has won just three of his 11 Premier League games since taking charge of the Red Devils in November, taking 11 points.
Erik ten Hag had scored fifteen points in the eleven games before he was fired and after a radical system change, Amorim's ideas do not seem to stick.
The Portuguese recently announced that he had only had six real training sessions with his stars.
He was so furious with his players after the 3-1 defeat to Brighton that he branded them 'arguably the worst team in the club's history' and reportedly destroyed the dressing room television, but Denis Irwin claims it wasn't it's his fault.
'I've said before: it depends on the players. The manager can organize [the players]he likes 4-3-3 [3-4-3]but it is literally up to the players,” Irwin told the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
'You wouldn't say that [Manchester] United's recruitment over the last decade has also been great – that's the biggest problem.
'It has been ten difficult years [post-Sir Alex Ferguson]. Everyone knew it would be a difficult period after Sir Alex left.
“They've had a lot of experienced managers – Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] also – it looked like they were going to do something, but that light just closed.
'They have won cups, as did Liverpool in their quiet period, but have not come close to the league in the last ten years. It will take time.'
Irwin won seven Premier League titles at Old Trafford and was part of the 1998-99 Treble-winning team under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Amorim has come under increasing scrutiny and even admitted last month that he could be sacked by Manchester United.
Sporting director Dan Ashworth discovered the brutality of this regime when he was sacked in December, just 159 days after joining the club in a lucrative move from Newcastle.
On Sunday, Amorim claimed his team could be the worst in United's history, but after a strong backlash he has since reversed that assessment.
“I spoke more for myself than for my players,” he said. “If you look around you, every time I speak – and I speak a lot – you push that the players are not good enough. I never made fun of my players.
'Because the same players are doing worse under a new coach, that is my only concern at the moment. I don't take anything from the players, what I am saying is that we have to improve on the details.'
At a raucous press conference after the 3-1 defeat at Brighton, which handed them their worst start in the league for 131 years, Amorim had branded their form 'unacceptable'.
“We are perhaps the worst team in the history of Manchester United,” the 39-year-old admitted.
'I say that because we need to recognize that and change it. Here you go: your headlines.
'It is unacceptable to lose so many games. For every Premier League club, so imagine Manchester United?
'The opponents are better than us in many details. I'm just here to help my players, but we have to understand that we're breaking all the bad records.
'In ten games in the Premier League we have won two. I know that. Imagine what this is like for a United fan. Imagine what this is for me. We get a new coach who loses more than the previous coach. I am fully aware of that.'
Denis Irwin was speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet.
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