Why Keane is still ‘not convinced’ by Man Utd as Amorim confirms January transfer plan | OneFootball

Man Utd legend Roy Keane is still “not convinced” by Ruben Amorim’s side despite their 1-0 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day.

The Red Devils beat the Magpies on Friday with Patrick Dorgu scoring the only goal of the game with a wonderful volley from just inside the area.

Man Utd have moved up to fifth in the Premier League table with most other sides playing on Saturday or Sunday after an unusually quiet Boxing Day fixture list.

The Red Devils had a miserable 2024/25 season under Amorim with the Portuguese head coach leading them to a 15th-placed finish and failing to qualify for any European competition.

Despite having no Europe to compete in, Man Utd have still struggled for consistency and performances in the Premier League with only seven points separating the Red Devils and 15th place.

And both Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher and Keane think qualifying for the Champions League is out of the question for Man Utd this season.

Carragher said on Sky Sports: “I don’t think they’ll finish in the top four but they need to get into Europe.

“The bar has been set so low after last season. They spent a good chunk of change in the summer. They should be where they are in the table, qualifying for Europe. The Champions League would be a step too far. They were really good at Aston Villa.”

Keane agreed, he said: “I’m not convinced.

“He [Ruben Amorim] got a pre-season and signings, they have no Europe but they are still not showing it. We are still waiting. The question marks are still there for me, we talk about top four but they are not ready for that.”

And Keane still thinks Amorim has a lot to prove at Man Utd, he said: “Man Utd just need to be better.

“We are not going to compare them to the great defensive teams like Arsenal but they need to be better. I still feel that any time I watched Man Utd, as good as they are going forward, teams seem to create chances so easily.

“If you want to make progress as a football club you have to be harder to beat. They need to improve or we will keep talking about the same problems. If they keep giving up chances and goals like they are, they will never make the next step.”

Amorim claims Man Utd “cannot do the same mistakes that we did in the past”, he said: “We have space to have more players, but it is a very important thing in our club that we have a plan and we need to bring players that we know.

“It’s hard to know for sure that everything is going to work, but we need to be certain of the players that we bring [in]. If we are not sure, it’s better not to bring anyone and to work with the players that we have. That is clear for me.

“Maybe I should be different like so many managers, but that is my thinking and I think it’s the thinking of the board that we cannot do the same mistakes that we did in the past and we need to survive these moments because we have players coming from international [teams] and from Europe.”

Amorim insists he doesn’t need much time to work out if a signing is right for Man Utd, he added: “I think I have a good feeling on that. That’s why we will not bring in a player that has that feeling face-to-face.

“They can mislead me a little bit, but it’s going to be hard, so I have the feeling and most of the time, I get it right. I just look at the guy, maybe it’s the way they speak and I think I can detect the rubbish. I don’t know.”