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David Moyes has accused Manchester United players of hiding behind the manager as Ruben Amorim prepares to take charge at Old Trafford.
Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim will replace Erik ten Hag next week with the 20-time champions currently lying 13th in the Premier League.
Captain Bruno Fernandes admitted after Sunday’s 1-1 home draw with Chelsea that he had apologised to the outgoing Dutchman for his form – an admission described by former United skipper Roy Keane as “too little, too late” – and ex-Red Devils boss Moyes had some sympathy with that view.
Asked on the Stick to Football podcast to assess the challenge facing Amorim compared with his own arrival at the club as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor in May 2013, the Scot said: “I’ve got to say, he’s in a completely different situation.
“I was really fortunate to take over the champions of England at the time, and also probably coming into a dressing room which had great respect for Alex and what he’d done and all those things.
“I think at the moment, players might be looking now and saying, ‘Hey by the way, if we don’t step up…’. The manager might be coming from a stronger position because these players are going to have to actually step up.
“It’s not always calling the players out, but I see it a little bit where I think the players are quite happy to hide behind managers at the moment, let the managers take the hit.
“I could do with some of them coming out and saying, ‘By the way, I know I’m not quite at it at the moment, I’m not playing well enough just now’.
“We’re not getting much of that – and I actually think Manchester United have got really, really talented players.”
Ten Hag, who was appointed in 2022, was sacked last month having won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, and replacement Amorim’s impending arrival was announced on November 1.
The Portuguese faces a series of big decisions over how best to utilise the squad he will inherit amid speculation over whether or not he will employ his favoured 3-4-3 formation, which he used to spectacular effect in Tuesday night’s stunning 4-1 Champions League victory over Manchester City.
Asked about the difficulties of implementing a new system part-way through a season, Moyes said: “It might take a while for him to get it the way he wants it, but I think Man United will be fine – if he goes that way.
I think the players are quite happy to hide behind managers at the moment, let the managers take the hit for it
Former Manchester United boss David Moyes
“Maybe he’ll come in and say, ‘Hey no, I’m going to have a look at this for a few weeks before I do anything’.”
Moyes also revealed he realised on his own arrival at Old Trafford that it might take as much as six years to rebuild the ageing squad left behind by Ferguson, and admitted the club had lost a “bit of class” since the days when it had backed his predecessor through his own tough times.
He said: “They didn’t sack managers. When Alex wasn’t doing so well, they didn’t do it. They stood for something which was really admirable, they stood for something which you say, ‘By the way, this club means a bit more. Yeah, it wants to win, but…’.
“A bit of class – and actually that probably dropped away, probably, at that time.”