Roy Keane has slammed the “lack of characters” in the Manchester United squad, saying he is not surprised by their recent downturn in form, and warned they will “throw Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] under the bus”.
United have lost seven of their past 10 games under Solskjaer, a drastic shift after such a positive start under the Norwegian when he took over from the sacked jose Mourinho in December.
Speaking on Sky Sports ahead of the Manchester derby on Wednesday evening, Keane said: “I’ve questioned this group for a long time. There’s a lack of leaders, of character, so I wasn’t shocked [by United’s 4-0 defeat at Everton on Sunday].
“I’m always intrigued when you hear them say they’re up for the next game. I don’t fall for this carry on. Leopards never change their spots. These are the same players who threw Jose Mourinho under the bus and they will throw Ole under the bus too.
“There’s too many bluffers at this club to get them back to the very top. Standards have dropped all over the pitch.
“He needs to get some players in. Some proper defenders. Pep Guardiola... and Jurgen Klopp, went and bought a goalkeeper and centre-half. Ole needs to go out and buy some defenders.”
Gary Neville was also scathing of the squad, while Graeme Souness added: “City should win comfortably. I think it’s really worry if you’re a United [fan]. They don’t know what their best back four or five is, the best mix of midfielders. He’s still scratching around trying to find out what his best starting XI is.
“It’s not good enough. There’s no players standing up and saying ‘you cannot leave me out’.”
