Gary Neville has hit out at Manchester United’s players amid reports of unrest in the squad, describing recent leaks to the media as “unforgivable” and “a betrayal”.
The performance of United boss Erik ten Hag has attracted scrutiny amid the Red Devils’ underwhelming start to the season, with the team sitting sixth in the Premier League table and finding themselves on the brink of a humiliating group-stage exit from the UEFA Champions League.
United relieved the pressure on the under-fire Dutchman with a 2-1 win over Chelsea on Wednesday, though the build-up to that game was overshadowed by reports that up to half of the club’s players no longer supported the manager.
Those suggestions were angrily denied by Ten Hag on Tuesday as United banned a group of journalists from his pre-match press conference.
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On the latest episode of the ‘Stick to Football’ podcast from The Overlap, Neville fumed at those reports emanating from the United camp, accusing the Red Devils’ squad of undermining several managers.
“The biggest betrayal you can have in a football dressing room is when players or players’ representatives are going to the media to undermine the manager and other players in your dressing room,” Neville said.
“Honestly, that is unforgivable.
“For me, I thought when I first heard these stories, ‘here we go again, they’re going to try and get another manager sacked, or another group of players thrown out’.
Here we go. Groundhog Day https://t.co/Jc6XiAuupY
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) December 4, 2023
“You know it’s happening and that it’s been fed [to the media].
“I thought, ‘stop whinging, shut your mouths, work as hard as you can, and the day after, come back and do it again’. That’s it.
“I have some sympathy with them at the moment and how it is at the club… the continuing poor recruitment, negativity, the lack of a sporting department.
“I’ve given them a pretty easy ride, but I have no sympathy at all for them if they are leaking stories or if they are being late.”
