Gary Neville believes the current crop of Manchester United players are just not good enough, following their humbling 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
A manager-less Magpies side put the Red Devils to the sword, with Italian midfielder Sandro Tonali opening the scoring in the first half before Harvey Barnes’ brace and Bruno Guimaraes’ strike sealed the rout in the second half.
Sunday evening’s defeat, their 14th of the season left Manchester United drop back to 14th position on the Premier League table and miss out on an opportunity to reach the 40-point safety mark.
Speaking to NBC Sports following the defeat, Neville, a former Manchester United defender, explained that United’s struggles didn’t stem from a lack of effort on the part of the players. Rather, he concluded that the players just didn’t have enough quality.
“They’re not a very good team, simple as that. There have been Manchester United teams over the years when the biggest problem has been that they’ve not given it their all. The problem with this group of players is that they’re giving it their all.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of effort. They’re so below the standard and quality you need at that football club. Other than Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo maybe, I can’t think of any of them that I would hang my hat on.
“It’s a really desperate situation because the squad is so poor in quality. They’ve got old and young players that are nowhere near it and then there’s a group of players in the middle. It’s a worrying situation.”
Manchester United’s season on the domestic front is all but over, with the Europa League their only hope of achieving anything from this campaign. They will have this at the back of their minds when they welcome Lyon to Old Trafford for the second leg of their quarter-final clash on Thursday, April 17.
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