Manchester United: Ruben Amorim successor must play the United way, says Gary Neville | Football News

Man Utd must appoint an experienced manager who fits the DNA of the club, says Gary Neville, insisting “the experiments have got to stop”.

The Sky Sports pundit has called on the hierarchy at his former club to return to the core United values as they look for a successor to Ruben Amorim, who was sacked on Monday.

The Portuguese leaves with a wretched record after deploying his back-three system through almost the entirety of his tenure.

Neville believes a failing at Man Utd since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013 is that the club have looked to different managers with different philosophies rather than sticking to their traditional principles.

“Louis van Gaal had his own philosophy. Jose Mourinho plays a certain style of football. So does David Moyes. Erik ten Hag, again, a very different style of football – different to what Man Utd ordinarily would play,” Neville told Sky Sports News.

“Ruben Amorim, a very different style of football than Man Utd would ordinarily expect.

“The experiments have got to stop.

“There is a very good video online [where United legend] Bobby Charlton talks about what Man Utd is as a football club. Adventurous, exciting football, playing young players, entertaining the crowd. Man Utd must take risks and be courageous in playing attacking football.

“Man Utd have got to appoint a manager that fits the DNA of their club. Ajax will never change for anybody, Barcelona will never change for anybody. I don’t believe Man Utd should change for anybody.

“You can’t say these managers are not good coaches but they’ve all come in with different ideas, different styles of play, different philosophies and none of them really fit the Man Utd way.

“The club have to find a manager now who’s got experience, who’s willing to play fast, entertaining, attacking, aggressive football.”

Neville remains optimistic that United’s group of players can still achieve Champions League qualification this season through the Premier League and expects interim boss Darren Fletcher to immediately switch to a back four set-up.

However, he warned that it is difficult to predict how United’s season will go if Fletcher is required to take the team until the end of the campaign before a permanent appointment is made in the summer.

“Manchester United appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on a short-term contract and it went really well. It was a big boost for the club. They then appointed Ralf Rangnick on a short-term contract and it was an absolute disaster, so we’ve experienced both things,” he said.

Carragher: European qualification still realistic for Man Utd

Despite Man Utd’s mixed fortunes with interim managers in the past, Neville’s fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher reckons the team are well placed in sixth spot and a Premier League-quality manager should be able to steer them to European qualification.

Asked if making the call to get rid of Amorim now could backfire for United, Carragher told Sky Sports News: “I don’t actually think it is that much of a risk.

“I think a competent manager, a Premier League manager, should be able to get Manchester United really close to the Champions League positions and really competing for it.

“Now, people will say, well, that’s where Manchester United are right now, and that tells you the story of the Premier League this season.

“I don’t think Manchester United have ever convinced, at any stage, under Amorim, that things were really looking good, and they still find themselves in a healthy position in terms of a league position.

“That can change really quickly because the league is so tight, but there’s enough talent in that squad to have a real push, certainly for European positions.

“When you look at how poor Liverpool have been, how poor Chelsea have been as well, there could be a real opportunity for them to get in the Champions League.

“I don’t think that will happen, but I do think Manchester United should have more than enough to get a European position.”