Gary Neville has outlined how long he believes it will take Man United to adapt to Ruben Amorim’s tactical style after they suffered yet another defeat on Sunday.
The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 in their clash with Tottenham after James Maddison struck in the 13th minute, punishing a goalkeeping error from Andre Onana.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser in the second half, but were unable to find the breakthrough, leaving Ange Postecoglou and Co to pick up a vital three points.
The defeat leaves Amorim’s side 15th in the table, having picked up just four wins from 14 league matches since the Portuguese boss took charge.
Now, former Red Devil defender Neville has weighed in on the concerning situation at the club and suggested it could be ‘two or three’ years until United adapt to Amorim.
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, he said: ‘How quickly can Amorim, not just get good players in, but get players who can fit into this system?
Ruben Amorim suffered his eighth league defeat, out of 14 games, as Man United manager
The Red Devils suffered a 1-0 defeat by Tottenham in their league clash on Sunday evening
Afterwards, Gary Neville warned that Amorim’s ‘peculiar’ system will take time to adjust to
‘It’s a peculiar system, 3-4-3. It’s a system where you’ve got to find two midfield players who are good enough to play with each other and cover a lot of ground.
‘You’ve got to find three centre-backs – with two of the outside ones capable of playing out wide in the full-back areas, when the wing-backs go forward.
‘So you’re asking for specialists throughout the team. It’s not like other systems which are little bit more forgiving.
‘How quickly can Amorim and the recruitment team at United get to a point where they can adapt this squad into a 3-4-3 squad?
‘It’s going to be a minimum of two to three transfer windows because of the investment that’s been made and we know clubs on the edge of PSR.
‘They’ve lost £300m in the last three years, so there’s a real struggle and a real fight to be able to spend the money that they need in the transfer market as well. There’s been a lot of waste in the last few years’.
Earlier in the week, Amorim admitted that United will have to sell players to buy in the summer as the club’s financial problems continue to hang over Old Trafford.
It emerged that the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules will remain next season and United are set to make further staff cuts, it was also revealed that the All Blacks are suing United’s co-owners Ineos for reneging on their sponsorship deal.
Neville suggested that Amorim’s 3-4-3 system requires ‘specialists throughout the team’
United’s worrying financial position means that they will have to sell in order to buy in summer
Last month, Marcus Rashford, Antony and Tyrell Malacia left Old Trafford on loan, while only Patrick Dorgu arrived in a £29.4million deal from Lecce.
United’s financial woes left them vulnerable to offers for prize assets Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo because they are worth 100 per cent profit under PSR rules, with both players attracting strong interest from Chelsea and Garnacho from Napoli as well.
Both academy products could be targets again in the summer as Amorim admitted that he will need to sacrifice some players to bring in the ones he wants.
After joining, Amorim branded his United side ‘the worst in the club’s history’ as he struggled to turn around their form following a poor run under Erik ten Hag.
