Ex-Man United star delivers brutal relegation verdict for Ruben Amorim before Manchester derby

Exclusive: Former Manchester United full-back Paul Parker has offered his verdict on the Reds' struggles under Ruben Amorim ahead of Sunday's derby against Man City

Ruben Amorim continues to struggle as head coach of Manchester United(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

Former Manchester United full-back Paul Parker has raised fears over a relegation battle at Old Trafford this season ahead of Sunday's derby.

Ruben Amorim's team have looked better in patches throughout the early stages of the 2025/26 campaign - but have just one win from four matches. The Reds' problems were highlighted in their catastrophic League Cup exit to League Two side Grimsby Town in August.

United somewhat recovered with a hard-fought win over Burnley before the international break, but they needed a Bruno Fernandes penalty in stoppage time to secure all three points. Attention now turns to the derby at Manchester City on Sunday afternoon (4:30pm kick-off UK time).

And Parker, who won two Premier League titles at M16 in the 1990's, has raised concerns over several issues at United under Amorim. He begins with their handling of Andre Onana - who left to join Trabzonspor on loan earlier this week.

"I don't think they've they've handled it too well," he told The Manchester Evening News, via bojoko.com. "I think it's taken too long.

"It was something that could have been done a lot earlier. The start of the season, with everyone knowing that he just wasn't good enough to play for Manchester United.

"Then he's given his first game in that disastrous evening at Grimsby, that's where it just carried on from where it left off the previous season, and now it's got to the point of them letting him go now, already into a season.

"I think we have to say that maybe one of the reasons they wanted him to go was that things were pretty sour while he was around, and when you're trying to move forward, and you've got a young goalkeeper, which you brought in place of him, you've got an experienced goalkeeper who isn't gonna help.

"You have to get them out of the way because they're just gonna cause problems. It's good that United have managed to get him out, but it's far, far too late."

Amorim has confirmed that Altay Bayindir will start on Sunday. Parker, however, believes new Reds keeper Senne Lammens should be given the gloves at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

Paul Parker believes Man United boss Ruben Amorim should be starting Senne Lammens in the Manchester derby (Image: Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)

"Well, given everything, I think you've got to start him," Parker insists. "If you put Bayindir in goal, where's his head at?

"I was having kittens in that Fulham game watching him play. I mean, that was terrible, and all of a sudden you made Fulham look like prime Arsenal with their coolness. I think you've got to start the new keeper."

On Amorim and what United can achieve - Parker insists that Europe has to be the objective, but raises fears over a potential relegation battle.

"They need to get their credibility back," he said. "They've got to finish in the top half of the table.

"As far as I'm concerned, they've got to be back into Europe again. You can talk about it being the Conference League, but still, it's Manchester United in Europe. The Conference League is looking to make a name for itself.

"I'm sure that there were a lot of people laughing at the Cup Winners' Cup at one point. No one was laughing after Man United won it in 1991. Everything was then about the European Cup.

"But these competitions need big clubs, they need big players, they need big managers to play in it, and if United were to qualify for it, that means they've shifted up in their position last season. It means that they've taken a step forward as a team because they've shown a little bit more consistency to qualify for Europe.

"You're judged by what you deliver over a duration of time, and what they delivered over the duration of time last season was embarrassing, really. It was just lucky there were three awful teams and that's the only thing that made it better for them.

"Wow, this season. The teams that have come up already looked better than the three that went down. It seem like they can handle themselves. They've got something about them, more than what the other three did, so you can't can't let your standards drop. If United let this standard drop a smidgen, they're relegated this season, that's the difference."

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