Roy Keane blasts 'weak' Man Utd and says players don't want to 'run' after Newcastle defeat

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane didn’t hold back after watching his old club suffer a heavy 4–1 Premier League defeat at the hands of Newcastle United, branding the current squad a “weak team” and insisting excuses can no longer be made.

United were outclassed at St James’ Park. After Alejandro Garnacho had briefly cancelled out Sandro Tonali’s early goal, Newcastle took control in the second half. Harvey Barnes netted twice before Bruno Guimaraes added a fourth late on, compounding the visitors' misery.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane was blunt in his assessment: “It’s just not good enough. That’s 14 league defeats now, and we keep coming up with excuses for this team. There aren’t enough players who want to run, who can run, or who pose a real goal threat. You have to dig deep when it’s tough—and they just didn’t.”

The loss came just days after United had drawn 2–2 with Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, a game they thought they’d won before conceding late.

Keane continued: “Physically and mentally, this is a weak team. Newcastle were quicker, stronger, and hungrier. They couldn’t cope with Newcastle’s pace or their attacking players. It was another disappointing second half and another poor performance. I’m really concerned about this group—they don’t look mentally strong.”

Manager Ruben Amorim, who took over from Erik ten Hag in November, brushed off post-match criticism in his TV interview, saying, “I don’t care,” and turned the focus toward next week’s second leg in Europe.

But Keane, a seven-time Premier League champion with United, was unimpressed by both the team’s effort and the manager’s tone: “It’s not just that they lost—it’s how they lost. To be fair, some of the players are new to the Premier League, and so is the manager. He probably doesn’t know what’s hit him. He’ll be frustrated, and of course he wants to focus on the next game. But deep down, he must be stunned by how poor this squad is.”

Keane concluded with a pointed dig at United’s recruitment: “Some of these players might be decent, but are they good enough for Manchester United? Absolutely not. And that’s not necessarily the players’ fault—it’s on the club for putting them in this position.”