Man Utd have become worse under Ruben Amorim and it cannot keep going on like this, says Gary Neville

Gary Neville believes Manchester United have become worse under Ruben Amorim and warned the Portuguese: "It can't keep going on like this."

Sunday's 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace put Amorim's United back to square one after three straight wins over Rangers, Fulham and Steaua Bucharest.

It was the 39-year-old's fifth league defeat in seven matches at Old Trafford since taking over - the quickest any Manchester United manager has reached that number of home top-flight losses in Premier League history.

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And Neville believes the pain is only going to continue for Amorim, his players and the United fans between now and the end of the season.

"I thought it would get better when Ruben Amorim came in, the enthusiasm of him and the new system, the players would buy into and we'd see a bounce," he told the Gary Neville Podcast.

"But we've seen the absolute opposite and it's got a lot worse - and that's surprising.

"There's going to be a lot more pain towards the end of the season and it's going to be damaging - because they're obviously going to stick with Amorim. But the more you lose, the more difficult it is for the manager to convince the players of his idea.

"In the very early days he said, 'I will not change my idea' and you need the players to buy into that. If they keep losing and they keep getting criticised and the spotlight comes on them more and the fans are leaving unhappy, you know it creates a feeling and you can't keep losing.

"You just can't. It will depress the thoughts of the players to a point whereby they'll start to lose faith in the idea and it'll damage you.

"He can't change his approach now because he's died in the ditch on it and rightly so. But he's lost more games at Manchester United than he lost in the last 75 at Sporting Lisbon which is just absolutely alarming, so he will not be enjoying this.

"It can't keep going on as it is and they somehow have to start playing better - because at this moment in time it's a very sorry situation when you watch United play."

Neville on Mainoo striker pick: Amorim has to simplify it!

United's latest defeat came in bizarre circumstances as Amorim chose midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has his centre-forward option, leaving recognised strikers Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee on the bench.

Amorim's side struggled in front of goal once again and in a further twist of irony, Palace's recognised forward Jean-Philippe Mateta got both goals in the 2-0 victory.

Neville believes Amorim's team selection gave Palace a lot of confidence to pick up that win and said while United's head coach cannot change his style of play now, he must make some tweaks.

"The only thing I can think he's doing is one of two things - experiment to the point whereby he's just trying to find a solution that works in the system he wants to play, or he doesn't like the strikers he's got," said Neville about Mainoo's centre-forward selection.

"I thought Bruno Fernandes was going to play in that position or Alejandro Garnacho might play up front and Fernandes to the right; when I saw Mainoo as a centre-forward or dropping in to that position, I thought it's okay, you'll get control in the game and you can get decent football. And it can con you, it can kid you.

"It's about putting the ball in the back of the net, it's about getting bodies in the box, it's about getting bodies across defenders and making sure that you're really creating chances and that's not going to happen that much with Mainoo up front as everything has to be perfect.

"In Mainoo, Garnacho and Amad Diallo you've got three quite lightweight players - really talented good players - but everything has to be absolutely perfect. And from a Crystal Palace point of view, if I'm a defender, I'm thinking I fancy that I'm going to outmuscle them.

"They are sharp and they chip in with goals, but they're not rapid quick and there's no real goalscorers there, so as a defender I'm thinking: 'We've got a chance.'

"I'm not saying that if they saw Rasmus Hojlund up front all of a sudden they'd be starting to panic but they'd be thinking at least they've got a physical presence and they've got a battle. Joshua Zirkzee is a big lad.

"I'm not saying they're brilliant players, but I just felt that when I saw that team I thought Crystal Palace would be fancying it.

"He's got to simplify it a little bit. While he might not like Hojlund, he might not think Zirkzee is great and might not like other players, he's got to pick the players that he has and stick with them.

"I was watching it and thought, 'I'd be surprised if Crystal Palace don't score a couple of goals and I can't see how United are going to score.' Where's it going to come from? I think changes are going to have to be made."

Neville's transfer window verdict

The day after the Palace defeat, United ended their January transfer window without any activity on Deadline Day.

Lecce full-back Patrick Dorgu was their only addition in the window after a pursuit for Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel ended in him joining Tottenham Hotspur. Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford completed a late January loan to Aston Villa.

But United's defensive line took another blow as Lisandro Martinez came off late on against Palace with a worrying knee injury.

"They've bought the left-back Dorgu and in the system that Amorim wants to play, wing-backs are absolutely critical - you have to have energy and quality in those wide areas," said Neville.

"Wing-back is a completely different position completely to wing and full-back, you have to be good at both. Dorgu will give that balance as they've had Diogo Dalot or Noussair Mazraoui playing there which is not ideal because they're always having to cut back on the right foot.

"Amorim knew that Manchester United were not going to be prolific in the transfer window in January, everyone knew that when he came, it was quite clear. I asked him in that first interview, 'so you're going to have to basically have these players for the season now'.

"He's obviously lost Marcus Rashford and got a left wing-back in so he might think he's slightly better off. But it looked like Lisandro Martinez might have picked up a bad injury when he got stretched off and that's an important player for Manchester United, even though he's not been playing brilliantly because he's a personality in that left channel."

Man Utd's upcoming fixtures

February 7: Leicester (H), FA Cup fourth round, kick-off 8pm

February 16: Tottenham Hotspur (A), Premier League, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 4.30pm

February 22: Everton (A), Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

February 26: Ipswich (H), Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm

March 9: Arsenal (H), Premier League, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 4.30pm

March 16: Leicester (A), Premier League, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 7pm

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