The next generation of Manchester United stars may struggle to blossom at the club due to the lack of leaders in the dressing room, according to Gary Neville.
Neville came through the famed United academy and made his debut in 1992 as part of a talented group of youngsters. The right-back was in the same crop as his brother Phil Neville, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Ryan Giggs, who became known as the Class of 92.
Sir Alex Ferguson was able to integrate the young players alongside established stars like Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Steve Bruce, Denis Irwin and Paul Ince. Those players helped guide Neville and his peers, but he doesn’t think the current crop like Kobbie Mainoo have the same support system.
“It’s a massive factor, the dressing room that you come into as a young player and the influence and standard bearers in the dressing room,” Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast. “These United lads who have come through in the last five to eight years, if you’re a young lad coming through at Liverpool and Manchester City you’ve got a good chance, whereas if you’re at United now, you’re thinking who's guiding that dressing room.”
Mainoo has been one of the bright sparks for United this season, with the 18-year-old becoming a fixture in Erik ten Hag’s midfield. He is leading a group of young players who are pushing for starts, alongside the likes of Omari Forson, Willy Kambwala and Amad Diallo.
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Former United skipper Keane agrees with Neville’s assessment of the current crop under Ten Hag. He joined the club from Nottingham Forest in 1993 and was immediately struck by the atmosphere in the dressing room.
“I loved the dressing room,” he said. “I thought all these players were brilliant professionals, and I looked around and thought what a great group of people. Players like Bryan Robson, Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe, all amazing professional players.
Kobbie Mainoo is leading the next generation of Manchester United stars (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Do you agree with Gary Neville's comments? Let us know below.
“Remember the Cliff, our old training ground in Salford, I’d come in for a big fee at the time, but I was looking around the group and even the chat and the banter was great. My first pre-season we went to South Africa, and I couldn’t believe how brilliant It was and how good the players were.
“We’re talking about plenty of players when we played who would happily give tough love, but clearly no one is doing that at Manchester United for Marcus Rashford and that is one of the problems that the team has, they don’t have that core group of players.”
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