Roy Keane labels Man United ‘an average Premier League team’ as club legend gives honest verdict of Ruben Amorim’s squad after new manager’s first game in charge ended in a draw

Roy Keane has slammed Man United after their disappointing 1-1 draw with Ipswich in Ruben Amorim‘s first game, labelling them an average Premier League team.

The Red Devils took the lead inside two minutes through Marcus Rashford, but spent the majority of the rest of the match under heavy pressure from Kieran McKenna‘s side.

Sunday’s result means United remain in the bottom half of the Premier League table, languishing in 12th-place, six points off Arsenal in fourth. They are now just seven points clear of Ipswich, who occupy the final relegation spot in 18th.

Only Everton (10), Crystal Palace (10) and Southampton (nine) have scored fewer goals than United’s 13. 

Their £180million summer spending spree has left them in even worse straits than they were in last season; after 12 games in 2023-24, they managed 21 points compared to 16 this campaign.

And Keane – who was involved in a furious row with a fan after being abused by a supporter post-match – argued that United are a long way from competing for the Champions League places, let alone league titles, as was once the annual expectation at Old Trafford.

The Irishman blasted the players and is pessimistic of their hopes to turn their season around

He noted that new manager Ruben Amorim has an incredibly tough task at hand this season

‘Man United, at this moment in time whatever the problems are, are an average Premier League team,’ he said.

‘So many teams are way ahead of them. There’s a long way to go for this United team.

‘Huge job for the manager, huge job. And, again, we keep saying it but listen, hopefully they get it sorted.’

Keane gave a brutal verdict on United’s hopes of recovering their poor start to the season, arguing that managerial changes cannot fix the real issue – their underwhelming group of players.

‘You still have the same players out there. The same problems. We talk about leopards and spots, the issue with United over the last couple of years. Lack off goals, lack of quality,’ Keane said.

‘We’re looking at Ipswich who haven’t won all season at home and they look the better team. If any team was gonna win you felt Ipswich were.

‘Do I believe this group of players have the quality to get United back to top four of five? Absolutely not. The evidence just isn’t there. Once the game starts it’s the same old stuff.’