Manchester United and their manager Jose Mourinho “should be embarrassed” to be 19 points behind table-toppers Chelsea in the Premier League, former captain Roy Keane said. United are currently languishing in sixth position in the table with 65 points, four behind fourth-placed Manchester City and 19 behind leaders Chelsea.
United’s challenge of making the top four in the Premier League was all but laid to rest following a 0-2 defeat at Arsenal last weekend. Their qualification for the Champions League next season now solely rests on the club winning the Europa League. Mourinho’s men host Spain’s Celta Vigo for the second leg of their semi-final on Thursday at Old Trafford, holding a 1-0 lead.
Mourinho recently said that United’s focus on the Europa League over the Premier League was a result of their injury woes since April. The Portuguese said it was impossible to play 17 matches across April and May with just 16 available players, which led to him prioritising the Europa League as a way to get into the Champions League next season.
Keane, however, said Mourinho was just making excuses. “I think he’s always coming up with plenty of excuses over the last few months,” Keane said, as reported by the Daily Mail. “There’s no way United should shy away from dealing with these challenges. This idea that they are sixth in the league, I think it’s 19 points behind Chelsea, the manager and players should be embarrassed by that.”
United won the League Cup earlier this year and Keane said that “there’s no reason why” the club cannot add to their silverware by clinching the Europa League, but added that even if they did, their season should not be termed a success. “For a club like Manchester United, winning a League Cup and a Europa League, with the teams that are in it, you’d expect them to do that,” he said. “To be so far behind in the league is nothing short of embarrassing. The players they have, the squad, the money they’ve spent, it’s not good enough.”
Keane also said that United captain Wayne Rooney, 31, should look for a transfer in the summer if he isn’t getting enough games. “If Wayne is going to stay at United for the next year or two and play, what, 10, 15 games a season? It’s no good to anybody,” the Irishman said. “And I think Wayne is the type of player who needs to be playing regularly to keep in shape and keep on top of his game. So if he’s going to be a bit-part player at United, then forget about it, he’s got to move on.”
