Gary Neville has criticized under-pressure manager Ruben Amorim for making a ‘ridiculous’ decision that, according to him, has undermined the confidence of Manchester United players in his system.

Amorim is facing mounting pressure at Man United after their latest defeat, with the Red Devils losing 3-1 against Brentford on Saturday.

Currently, Man United is positioned 14th in the Premier League after six games, with Amorim’s team having secured two wins, one draw, and three losses this season.

Despite the ongoing struggles of the Red Devils under his leadership, Amorim has steadfastly maintained his commitment to using the 3-4-2-1 formation.

Neville, a former Man United captain, expressed his concern following the team’s recent defeat and highlighted that Amorim’s choice to play Mason Mount as a left wing-back while attempting to turn the game around could erode trust in his tactical system.

‘For the first time, I had a sense, based on instinct, watching the game on TV and observing the players’ expressions and body language, that there might be doubts among the players about the system and the overall direction,’ Neville stated on the Gary Neville Podcast.

‘There was a moment in that match, which I had warned about two or three weeks ago on my podcast, that shouldn’t have happened again. It was seeing Mason Mount positioned as a left wing-back.’

‘There’s sticking to your plan and then there’s your coach that’s got an idea and making sure that he delivers that idea and not flip flopping with his idea with players, which can sometimes undermine what you’re trying to achieve.

‘But then when you’re putting Mason Mount at left wing-back – and he’s ended up at left wing-back again at Brentford in the last five minutes to the game – it starts to look awful.’

‘You can’t put Mason Mount at left wing-back. I’m sorry, it just can’t happen. I can’t watch Mason Mount play left wing-back in a football team.

‘I struggled at times to watch him in his natural position, but actually putting him out there on the left wing, is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.’

The defeat marked another major blow for Man United and Amorim, who had been hoping to build momentum after a 2-1 win over Chelsea last weekend.

Coupled with Graham Potter’s sacking at West Ham, the defeat saw Amorim become odds on favourite with Betfair at 8/11 to be the next Premier League manager sacked.

Amorim, who previously claimed that even the Pope could not persuade him to change his system, again insisted his favoured tactic was not to blame for their latest defeat. 

‘It is always the same, when we win it’s not the system, when you lose it’s the system. I think it’s more that we play this game like Brentford wants to play this game. 

‘With long balls, we kick the balls, second balls, and we never settle down in our game. We never play our game. 

‘We never pushed the opponent, every time they recovered the ball. We suffered two goals like that. 

‘I think the penalty could change things, but my overall view of the game is that we never settled down, we didn’t have control of the game.’

The Red Devils had gone 2-0 down on Saturday with Igor Thiago scoring a brace for the Bees in the opening 20 minutes, before Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with his first goal for the club.

Bruno Fernandes spurned the chance to bring Man United level after seeing a second half penalty saved, with Mathias Jensen scoring Brentford’s third in stoppage time.

Man United face newly promoted Sunderland in the final match before the international break, before a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool.