Manchester United should bring in a proven winner to deliver some home truths to their players, according to former Billericay Town midfielder Jamie O'Hara.
United have won two of their first six Premier League matches of the new season as their fortunes continue to deteriorate under head coach Ruben Amorim despite an enormous summer transfer outlay.
The Red Devils brought in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko but are statistically the Premier League's most inefficient team in front of goal, an honour to which they've become accustomed in recent seasons.
After finishing a few places above the relegation zone and losing the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur, United invested heavily in the transfer window in an attempt to arrest their slump.
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Amorim is justifiably and frequently criticised but O'Hara is far from the first to question the players' culpability and reckons he has the answer.
"I'm amazed that no one has phoned Roy Keane and said, 'Can you come in at Man Utd and be part of what we're doing here?' because he is arguably Man Utd's greatest captain," said an apparently amazed and assuredly shacketed O'Hara on Sky Sports.
"He is a leader. He's unbelievable. When you watch him, he's ferocious, you listen to him, when he walks into a dressing room, you're going to listen.
"He's going to lead by example. He's not going to allow poor standards. I can't believe Manchester United have not phoned Roy Keane."
O'Hara might be expressing an overall view that many supporters can get on board with but the idea that Keane should be hired to deliver regular rockets like a raging cheerleader is an oversimplified and wholly theoretical solution to a complicated problem.
Standards among the players are certainly a problem at Old Trafford but O'Hara's unorthodox fix doesn't appear to have much basis in the reality of modern football or indeed the workings of a listing giant.
'This is Man Utd'
"Maybe [it's] because he can't be the manager," continued O'Hara.
"Maybe it's because he's too hot-headed, I don't know. They want someone in with more tactical nous or whatever.
"How Roy Keane isn't in there at that football club, in the dressing room, in there every day at the training ground telling them this is the standard, this is what's Man Utd, this is what we've built, this is how we do it... I cannot believe they've not done something like that."
Neither has anyone else. Bizarre.
Topics: Football, Manchester United, Roy Keane
Chris Nee