Man Utd legend Gary Pallister reacts to dire season as Europa League final looms
Gary Pallister is calling on Manchester United's leaders to step up in Bilbao and rescue something from their sorry season.
But whatever unfolds in Wednesday's Europa League final, he hopes a squad overhaul this summer will result in a team 'willing to show up in every game, not just in some'.
Pallister knows nothing should deflect from United's Premier League horror show, having lost 18 of their 37 games to date. Going into Sunday's final round of league games, United are 16th in the table with tomorrow's European opponents Tottenham one spot below them, after losing 21 times.
But while Pallister is hugely frustrated by their dire domestic struggles, he feels a European trophy and a route back into the Champions League cannot be sniffed at.
Speaking to Mirror Sport, Pallister said: 'It would be huge to get into the Champions League as it attracts players and gives us a bigger war chest for the summer. It's a huge fillip for the fans if we can do that, even if there's a touch of apprehension about playing in the Champions League next year.
'Winning the Europa League doesn't really save the season because we've hit depths that we've not seen since my first season at Manchester United. That was in 1989/90 and we were saved by the FA Cup in the end. It was great to get a trophy as we knew it could lead onto better things. But in the cold light of day we weren't good enough in the league (United finished 13th) and that's where you judge your team.'
Pallister - a William Hill Vegas ambassador - reckons United are capable of not showing up in Wednesday's decider in Spain - and that's why he says the onus is on the team's leaders to show the way. Ruben Amorim's squad have been widely panned by everyone this season - including the manager himself.
Pallister, 59, said: 'The league never lies and we're in this position because we simply haven't been good enough. We can't hide away from that fact. Any player who has played at Manchester United will talk about it being a different sort of pressure.
'Along with Real Madrid, they are the two biggest clubs in the world and the expectation can take your breath away a little when you get to a club like this. It did to me, and the players who were there would talk to me about how to deal with the expectations. Sir Alex was great with it as well.
'I had Bryan Robson, Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce, Viv Anderson in the dressing room - great senior pros at that time to have a chat with. That was invaluable to me. Whether we have those kinds of characters at Man United right now, I don't know, but it's been a big change to the game of football as a whole.'
Pallister, who made 317 league appearances for United, said: 'You're looking for people like Tony Adams, John Terry, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Dennis Wise. These guys who wear their heart on their sleeve and give everything on a pitch and don't suffer fools in a football team and will be in your ear if you're not performing.
'I don't see many characters like that in the game and maybe Manchester United needs a few more like that. Whatever is wrong in that team and that dressing room, it needs to be rooted out and we need to find a team that is willing to show up in every game, not just in some.'
United boss Amorim - only appointed in November - caused a stir last week when he said he will have to go if United carry their woeful league form into next season. And regardless of whether the Red Devils win the Europa League, the Portuguese will be under ferocious pressure if his team have a nightmare start next season. But Pallister, the former United, Middlesbrough and England centre-back, wants the club to back Amorim in the summer transfer market.
'The manager is very honest in what he says and how he feels,' said Pallister. 'What he's saying is that we're all in it together - it's not just the players, it's him too.
'He's picking the team and coaching the side. He's been there five or six months and is disappointed in himself and with the team and is reflecting that. But I don't mind it. It may sound negative to some people but I think he's being brutally honest as he expected more from the players and himself. It's a job he didn't want to take until the end of the season anyway so we have to give him that time to change things around.'
And asked what's required in the summer window, Pallister said: 'It's going to be hugely important, but how many times have we said that since Sir Alex left? He has to get time. He's had one transfer window, and the winter one is always difficult to make huge changes in.
"Managers live and die by who they bring in and we're probably expecting a massive turnaround in players this summer. There are good players in that squad but for whatever reason it doesn't gel and he's not finding any real answers to the league form. Hopefully he gets it right. But this week I'm hoping we put our disastrous league form behind us, win a trophy and get back into the Champions League."
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