Micah Richards has stressed that dark days may be ahead for Man United, despite Ruben Amorim's side currently sitting in 14th place in the Premier League.
The Portuguese boss took charge at Old Trafford in early November and has won just two of his eight league games at the club.
They are rotting in the bottom half of the table – closer to the relegation zone (seven points) than the top four (13 points) – in the midst of a four-match losing streak.
They dropped out of the EFL Cup last month after losing to Spurs in the quarter-final, meaning they only have two real chances to win silverware this season: the FA Cup (where they face Arsenal in the third round) and the Europa League. .
However, on The Rest is Football, Richards spoke to Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer and explained that United fans may have to weather another storm under Amorim.
Shearer asked, 'How much longer? [Amorim] continue with his system? Because the players he has in the squad clearly can't play the way he wants them to play?'
'As long as he can. I don't think he'll change his ways because then he'll admit defeat,” Richards replied.
Shearer wondered whether Amorim should focus on his players and change his style of football to get the best performances out of them – an approach that has been widely criticized by United managers in the past.
'Real? When you say he's admitting defeat, isn't he saying, “Okay, I tried this way and my players can't play this way, so I'm going to have to change for the sake of the team”?' asked the Newcastle legend.
Richards stuck to his guns, arguing that United have tried every formation under the sun and it would be a mistake for Amorim to change tactics now. He added that the Red Devils may have to go through some growing pains before improving.
'It's not like United were great three years ago and then Ten Hag came in and it was really bad. But they haven't played well for years and they've tried every possible formation,” he said.
“So if you're a manager, you're not going to doubt yourself and end up in a system you don't know. I think this is one that will take a lot of time. The players are clearly not good enough to fit into his system, but if he starts to change now…'
“Things are getting worse though, Micah!” Shearer interrupted.
“I think sometimes it has to get worse before you can move on because they've tried everything else,” Richards insisted.
Regarding this month's transfer window, Lineker argued that Amorim needs players to fit into his system if United are to save their season.
They are well on course to surpass their worst points tally in a Premier League campaign. After 19 games, United has achieved 22 points; at this rate, Amorim's fighters would finish on 44 points, blowing their previous low of 58 in 2021-2022 out of the water.
“We know there is never too much transfer action in January, but if there is one club it has to be Man United,” Lineker said.
'[Amorim] needs players who can play the way he wants to play, and if they don't come in soon, they're going to struggle.”
“He doesn't just need players out, he needs players out,” Shearer added.
Richard agreed, arguing that United do not have the personnel in their squad to emulate Amorim's dynamic playing style at Sporting, which required heavy pressing and fluid movement between positions.
'You're right. if you look how [Sporting] played in Portugal, how anyone thought this group of players could do anything [Amorim] trying to do – it's impossible,” Richards said.
'Man United have no legs. It's Alan's point: you'd probably adjust things a bit, play like that until the end of the season, and then again [Amorim] gets [his] players in, this is what [he’s] going to do.
“But he came in, he got that big win against Man City in the Champions League. Man United fans are going crazy on social media saying, “Oh my God, this is how we're going to play.” He doesn't have the players for that, so what does everyone expect?'
“I bet he's thinking, what the hell have I walked into, both on and off the field,” Shearer said.
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