Patrick Rees
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville believes that Jose Mourinho should axe some of his players, as they do not ‘fit the profile’.
The former Chelsea gaffer, Jose Mourinho, was signed by the Devils earlier this summer and he didn’t waste much time to rebuild the squad according to his plans. The 53-year-old made four marquee signings, but the most surprising thing to see was; there were no departures from the senior squad, besides Paddy McNair.
The Devils started off their campaign with a win over Leicester City in the community Shield and then went on to win three consecutive Premier League encounters, but failed to replicate the same form against their arch rivals, Manchester City. Many players were criticised for their poor show of character and that established a base for the same form, as they went on to lose the games against Feyenoord and Watford.
Mourinho’s men came back to winning ways as they recently outpowered the reigning Premier League champions Leicester City. In spite of that, Neville insists Mourinho still has work to do to fix problems caused by ‘bad spending’ since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Neville said:
“He’s unravelling what’s gone on here in the last three years with what I think has been bad spending by the club, simple as that. Now he is trying to correct it.
“I do like two or three players that he has signed this time. I like Pogba, he will come good, I like the fact Zlatan’s got a big character, I like Bailly.
“I think there are players there that have got the profile that fit the Manchester United stature but there are still some here that haven’t got the profile.”
Neville, who has more than 600 appearances for the Devils, also believes that both Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera still have much to prove. The central midfielders formed a formidable partnership against Leicester City, but according to legend, their real test will be against the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City.
“It’s too early to say, I don’t think Mourinho will look at that performance and think Pogba and Herrera are his midfield two,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“For Manchester City at home or Liverpool away or Chelsea away, they still have to build up that trust to him, to us, the crowd, that they are good enough to play in these big matches.
“United have got three games in the next six that are against Chelsea, Liverpool and City. In those games Pogba and Herrera, if they are going to play together, can they then go and deliver in the bigger games and against the better opposition?”
