Gary Neville branded Manchester United “the worst pound-for-pound football team in the country” during their 2-0 defeat against Newcastle.
The Red Devils were two down at Old Trafford after just 19 minutes thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton.
Isak also had a goal disallowed and Sandro Tonali hit a post in a one-sided first half.
Boss Ruben Amorim substituted striker Joshua Zirkzee after half an hour, bringing on England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in a change that was cheered by some United fans.
Former United full-back Neville, co-commentating on Sky Sports, said: “He’s not been good. But they’ve all been absolutely awful.
“You are watching the worst pound-for-pound football team in the country, bar none, out there in red shirts.”
After the match Neville said he feared United, 14th in the table after a third straight league defeat, could even get dragged into a relegation battle.
He added: “I’m worried, it’s really grim. That first half-an-hour was hard to watch.
“It’s deteriorated, performances and results, in this last few weeks and the concern is they are getting dragged into a fight down there at the bottom.
“What’s happening on the pitch is really desperate.”
Amorim’s tactics are under scrutiny but he suggested he would not change them, even if he faced the sack.
“Maybe, or you continue with your idea and they have to change the coach,” he told Sky Sports.
“I was here because of my idea and I will continue to do my idea until the end.”
On the substitution of Zirkzee, he added: “You have to think about the team and sometimes about the player.
“Sometimes the player is suffering. It was really tough on me to do that and I will talk to Josh. But at that moment it was important to the team.
“Josh is a really, really good guy. He will have support and prepare for the next game.”
Amorim also admitted Newcastle are simply a better team than his at the moment.
“It was really hard on us, they are the better team and they started really strong,” he said.
“We don’t have the base of work behind the way we play to cope with those moments so the players suffered a lot.
“It was really hard on us. Like I said, Newcastle are the better team.”
