Neville insists one Man Utd star ‘absolutely critical’ for ‘par’ Premier League finish

· Football365

Neville has revealed what he believes would be a “par” PL finish for Man Utd under Carrick and insists one player will be “absolutely critical” for them to achieve that ...

Gary Neville has revealed what he believes would be a “par” Premier League finish for Manchester United under Michael Carrick this season and insists one player will be “absolutely critical” for them to achieve that goal.

The Red Devils drew 1-1 with Leeds at Elland Road on Sunday as Bryan Mbeumo’s first-half opener was cancelled out by Dominic Calvert-Lewin after the break.

It was a solid display in a game many expected Man Utd to lose and Neville believes it could be a “stepping stone” for Carrick.

Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast, the Sky Sports pundit said: “[There’s] a depressed standard and a low expectation right now.

> “But it’ll feel like a stepping stone for Michael Carrick, and it’ll feel like the first step on the ladder in the Premier League.

> “They may take some confidence from that, and there might be a blueprint there. Maybe we have to bring Matheus Cunha, Marcus Rashford and others off the bench, and we might just have to have a go at being more solid.”

The result leaves Man Utd in 13th place after just one win from their opening seven games and Neville has revealed what he believes would be a “par” Premier League finish for his former side.

> “I would say fourth would be a birdie, fifth would be par, and sixth would be a bogey,” said Neville of his former club’s targets for the season. “But they can’t finish outside the top five, because then you’re missing out on Champions League and it becomes a vicious circle.

> “Then you can’t get those players because they want to play in the Champions League and you can’t get the money from it and you’ve lost the £60m-£70m and you’re in the Europa League on Thursday nights.

> “Fifth is a must for Michael Carrick to continue to grow and Manchester United continue to grow with investment.

> “If they’re 13th in January, he’s got a problem because then you are what you are. Whereas I think it’s still early enough, seven points from seven games, to say, ‘okay, still early in the season’. You can’t say that after 15 games.

> “It has to change in the next few weeks: Bournemouth is really important and Chelsea away. And how he manages the games in between that.

> “You’ve got to say fifth. You know that anything less than fifth is going to be a disappointment and a dropping standard from the start of the season where everybody expected them to finish.

> “And at the moment, they’re well short of that because you look at Brighton, Liverpool, Aston Villa – they look like they’re picking up a little bit. It’s difficult.”

Baleba the ‘absolutely critical’ cog

Neville also reserved praise for £7om Carlos Baleba, who he believes will prove to be “absolutely critical” for Man Utd and Carrick this season after he once again impressed alongside fellow summer signing Andrey Santos.

> “I know he had a difficult season last year at Brighton, but you watch him in his first couple of games or so for United, and he’s got something,” said Neville. “He’s got a bit of strength about him, he’s got a presence.

> “Him staying fit is gonna be absolutely critical, I can understand why Michael Carrick took him off with 20 minutes to go [at Leeds], because he’s played [nearly] three games in a week.

> “Maybe he doesn’t play him against Como on Wednesday. We’re not throwing the Champions League away, but Manchester United have to beat Bournemouth next weekend.

> “I just wonder whether that Santos-Baleba partnership is going to stay there for a bit, and let a couple of [the attacking players] float around in front, and be a lot more solid, make sure we’re not giving as much space away.

> “I’m sick of Manchester United’s team being easy to play against, and Michael Carrick will be sick of it.”

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