Gary Neville puts dampener on Ruben Amorim's Man Utd start with honest early thoughts

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has given his honest verdict on Ruben Amorim’s start as the club’s new head coach after Sunday’s 4-0 thrashing of Everton. While Neville believes Amorim will be pleased with his first three games in charge, he insists that United remains far behind their Premier League rivals.

The Portuguese tactician, who was snapped up from Sporting last month, celebrated his second win at the helm in his first league match at Old Trafford.

His side trounced Everton, thanks to two goals each between Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee and masterful creativity from Bruno Fernandes and Amad.

It marked back-to-back victories for the 39-year-old, following a thrilling comeback from 2-1 down to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League last Thursday.

Despite picking up two wins and a draw in his first three games, Amorim, who has been vocal about wanting to see improvements from his team, remains focused on the task ahead.

Sunday’s triumph over Everton propelled United into the top half of the table and within striking distance of the coveted Champions League qualification spots.

The Red Devils are up to ninth just four points behind Brighton and Hove Albion in fourth with a trip to Arsenal and home clash with Nottingham Forest on the agenda this week.

However, Neville, speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, cautioned against getting too excited about the positive start, insisting United are a long way off from where they aim to be under Amorim.

He said: “Obviously it was a good win. Coming back in midweek and winning, Ruben Amorim will be happy.

“They’re a long way off, no doubt about that, but they’ve gone up into the top half of the table.

“They’re only four or five points off the top four, which is mad really but I don’t think they’re quite at that level yet to give anybody confidence that they can get there.

“The teams that are above them, particularly in the top six are well ahead of them in terms of performance levels. But he’ll be happy at the end of his first week of matches.”