Roy Keane accused Manchester United of being too “frightened” to see out victory after they surrendered a lead and dropped two points in a 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened West Ham at Old Trafford.
Diogo Dalot put United ahead, but Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equaliser from a corner cancelled it out. Under Ruben Amorim, United have taken just 20 points from 27 home games and have won only once in their last five league matches, drawing three of those despite being in front.
“After they get the goal, you are playing against a team in the bottom three, they take their foot off the gas,” Keane said. “Take nothing away from West Ham and they just about deserved the equaliser. You are just putting yourself under pressure. Every time I watch this United team, they disappoint. They aren’t clinical, they weren’t nasty enough to get the job done.”
Keane warned fans would be frustrated, adding: “One minute they are making progress, win and you go fifth. There will be a lot of frustration… Show your quality. In their last three or four games, I think it has been desperate. Really poor. An opportunity to get the job done and they were almost frightened.”
He also criticised United’s switch-off from the set-piece that led to the leveller, noting defensive fragility from corners: since the start of last season only West Ham (17) have conceded more league goals from corners than Manchester United (15). “The reason you are playing for Man Utd is that you deal with these situations,” Keane added. “If they are anxious, you worry why they are playing for Man Utd and what they are fearful of. Fearful of West Ham, why?”
Former United defender Gary Neville echoed the bafflement. “I don’t get it, I don’t get the lack of urgency, and the lack of intensity. I don’t get the slow play. I don’t get the lack of risk in the game,” he said. Quoting Amorim’s request for more intensity, Neville added: “It doesn’t transpire out on the pitch… I don’t see the actual appetite to go and throw your whole life at the game… They’re showing us what they are, the seventh, eighth or ninth team in the league.”
Dalot admitted the side became “anxious” after taking the lead. “Obviously disappointed. We have to control much more of the game, especially at home,” he told Sky Sports. “We cannot get as anxious as we get. We were a bit more sloppy with the ball in possession… It’s a solution we need to find. In the end, we have to look to ourselves. It’s more our fault.”
Sky Sports analyst Laura Hunter outlined wider concerns: United lack resolve under pressure and have not kept a clean sheet in seven games. They establish a foothold in matches and then hand it back, showing a lack of continuity. Against West Ham they dominated attacking metrics — higher xG, more shots on target, three big chances and 42 touches in the opposition box — but the return was only a single goal. “Ultimately, this United team have very little conviction,” Hunter wrote, highlighting the club’s problems with second-ball losses and sustained competition across 90 minutes.
