Keane slams Man Utd players with Solskjaer set to ´pay the price´

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is inevitably facing the sack after a complete lack of leadership shown by Manchester United players, according to Roy Keane.

United are winless at home in the Premier League this season after a tepid 1-0 home loss to Arsenal on Sunday – the Gunners’ first victory at Old Trafford since 2006 in Solskjaer’s 100th game as manager.

Sunday’s defeat has left them languishing down in 15th place and former United captain Keane, working as a pundit on Sky Sports, gave a brutal and passionate assessment of their display.

“They were obviously chasing the match but no quality, no composure, some of the performances were really, really poor,” Keane said.

“Ole, once again, he’ll be scratching his head. We keep talking since the Spurs game, the last few weeks – have they turned a corner? It’s the longest corner ever.

“Ole will pay the ultimate price. Ole will lose his job working with this group of players. That’s what’s going to happen.

“There’s a real lack of quality at Manchester United and there’s a long, long way back for this club.

“You have to trust your players, your job depends on these guys out on the pitch. You have to trust them lads out there? God help us.”

4 – Manchester United have failed to win any of their opening four top-flight games at Old Trafford for the first time since 1972-73, a campaign in which they finished 18th. Nightmare. pic.twitter.com/Cx2GAdrfFh

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 1, 2020

Keane, who made 480 appearances for the Red Devils between 1996 and 2005, proceeded to lambast the lack of fight shown by United.

The former Republic of Ireland international said United did not have anyone on the pitch who could “get in somebody’s face, smash somebody”.

He said: “You’re playing at United because you’re expected to break these teams down, you’re expected to run back, you’re expected to roll your sleeves up. That’s what characters at Manchester United are about.

“I don’t see men out there. I don’t see guys you want to be in the trenches with, guys you trust. Alex Ferguson always used to make the point that you need courage to be a Manchester United player – wanting the ball when you don’t really want it.

“Bravery doesn’t necessarily mean nailing somebody. Bravery means wanting possession, fans on your back, courage to pass the ball forward. We saw United players taking the easy option. They have to do better.”

3 – Paul Pogba has conceded three penalties in the Premier League under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while no other Manchester United player has conceded more than one. Discipline. pic.twitter.com/ZXL2OrWAxp

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 1, 2020

Keane claimed the current crop of players at Old Trafford do not appear to care enough when the going gets tough.

He continued: “I’m just not convinced with these players. We often talk about characters with Manchester United – I just don’t see enough of them.

“These are high-profile players. We give them a big build-up before the match. I tend to judge players by their actions and the actions I see from this team are nowhere near good enough.

“I looked at [Marcus] Rashford closely. He’s had a load of plaudits in the last few months and I know he’s still a young man, but his body language was shocking, really shocking. Shrugging his shoulders when things weren’t going his way.

“You roll your sleeves up at Manchester United. When things aren’t going your way that’s when you look at your leaders, your characters – and I don’t see any leaders out there, right through the whole team. It’s a real, real worry for United now.”