Gary Neville has furiously labelled Manchester United‘s players a ‘bunch of whingebags’ after a shambolic first-half performance against Newcastle.
The Red Devils went in at the interval 1-0 down against Eddie Howe‘s side at St James’ Park on Monday night after Allan Saint-Maximin punished a defensive mistake from Raphael Varane, before Edinson Cavani equalised to rescue a 1-1 draw.
And Neville told Monday Night Football there were ‘no positives’ from the visitors’ ‘shocking’ showing.
He said: ‘You don’t want to go overboard, they’ve been off for 16 days, new manager, trying to get used to a new system. The balance in the side isn’t right. But I was worried after Norwich, there’s no pressing, there was no urgency, the basics of the game, every single battle they’ve lost.
‘That’s been a really poor performance, that. Honestly. They’ve not done one single thing right as a team, not one single player can go in and say they’ve done their jobs, or even done themselves justice. No positives. Nothing.
‘There are still basics of the game you can do properly. Win your battles, go in for tackles properly, show a bit of urgency, look like it matters.’
And Neville blasted the side’s mentality and body language on the pitch, insisting the blame for the performance lay with the players rather than the boss.
He added: ‘They’re whinging at each other! They’re a bunch of whingebags! A bunch of whingebags! Watch them on that pitch, arms up in the air, complaining about everything! Honestly, they’re absolutely shocking out there in that first half
‘They got the last manager the sack! Ralf Rangnick is not going to get the sack, he’s only had a few weeks with them, but they’ll get a lot of managers the sack, that lot, if they carry on like that. They’ve got to sort themselves out because it’s massively below what’s expected.
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‘They’ve played the two teams at the bottom of the league, and they’ve shown us nothing! Nothing to do with the manager, by the way. It’s to do with the players out on the pitch. Not good enough.’
Neville added that Rangnick would have ‘hated’ his side’s display, and leave him worried about the overall squad cohesion which the former United full-back believes is struggling to develop an overall leader.
‘Rangnick will have hated that tonight. I think Rangnick will be genuinely worried,’ he added.
‘The attitude, the basics, something just isn’t right in there. There’s definitely whinging going on. They’re all at each other, they’re not helping each other, and the spirit of a dressing room is really important. I don’t think they’re all with each other at this moment in time.
‘There’s a big of a leadership struggle going on; Maguire is the captain but he doesn’t feel like the captain. Ronaldo has come in, and has maybe upset Bruno with the hierarchy in the team, Cavani comes off the bench, a senior player.
‘It just doesn’t feel like the mix is right. Ole was struggling with it towards the last few months, and now Rangnick is struggling with it. Those players don’t look happy out on the pitch, and they need to get that right.’
Bruno Fernandes, Alex Telles and Cristiano Ronaldo were among the United players to ostensibly complain about refereeing decisions in the first half, with Fernandes booked in the second half for dissent.
Neville continued: ‘Newcastle had some major chances in the second half, more than they had in the first, probably because Manchester United had so many more attacking players on the pitch and no defensive structure. That’s not what Ralf Rangnick has come in to do at Manchester United.
‘That was a mess in terms of formation, style, it was desperation. (David De Gea) made a couple of great saves. It was really worrying. After Norwich Ralf Rangnick said the body language was poor and I think there will be a lot that he hates about what he’s seen tonight and I think he’ll really dislike that performance.’
