Gary Neville insisted that Manchester United's biggest problem is a lack of quality in a destructive assessment of his former side after their 4-1 defeat by Newcastle.
The 14th League defeat of the Red Devils season left them only three points in 17th place West Ham United and stared down the course of a worst Premier League campaign.
In a gloomy year, which began under the management of Erik ten Hag, United has shown promising signs in recent weeks, which went to the Europa League last year and earn credit treks against people such as Arsenal and Manchester City.
The loss of Sunday in St James' Park, however, revealed the brutal reality of the current plight of United and left Neville little choice than to admit the shortcomings of the team.
“They are not a very good team, that simple,” he said at NBC Sports. 'There are Manchester United teams over the years that the biggest problem has not been that they have not given it everything. The problem with this group of players is that they give everything.
“I don't think there is a lack of effort. They are so under the standard and quality that you need at that football club.
Unlike Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo, maybe none of them can think of what I would hang on my hat. It is really a desperate situation because the team is so bad of quality.
'They have old and young players who are nowhere in the area and then there is a group of players in the middle. It is a worrying situation. '
Although there has been a lot of criticism of their sad competition campaign, the progress of United in Europe has given fans that their season can still be salvaged. The victory in the Europa League will earn the Red Devils a place in the Champions League next season, regardless of how far the classification the finish.
After securing a 2-2 draw on the continent last week, United Lyon welcomes on Thursday in Old Trafford in a match that will determine their season and perhaps their immediate future.
Not condemning the trophy would condemn the Red Devils until a season without European competition and probably a bottom half finish. Again, this prospect was impossible for Neville to ignore when he focused his attention on the suitability of the team to aim Ruben Amorim's 3-4-3 system.
The former Right Back shared his opinion that the approach is' a problem ', adding to it:' There are huge problems, but to be honest you don't know where to start, where you can build the first step. A serious amount of time is needed and good recruitment for that club to get good.
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