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Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has questioned the spirit of United's players following their disastrous start to the Premier League season.
The Red Devils sit bottom of the Premier League table off the back of their two defeats in two matches.
They suffered a devastating 4-0 defeat at Brentford last weekend, and a 2-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening weekend. Erik ten Hag's side put on one of the worst performances in the club's recent history at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Many fans and pundits have once again blamed club owners the Glazer family for the mess they are in. However, former Manchester United defender Silvestre believes the players deserve some of the blame.
The Frenchman also blamed the club's problems on a poor recruitment strategy, as he told Betting Expert:
“The owners are not on the pitch. We have a lot of people criticising the way the club is being run, but I think all managers have been backed financially, and they were given resources to buy players. Their wage bill is huge now.”
He added:
“The question now is, how is it being handled? With the recruitment process and also the Manchester United spirit, that’s what was missing. The spirit against Brentford was non-existent. Only one team was fighting as a team. Manchester United, individually and as a team, was nowhere near what Premier League commitment requires."
Silvestre believes that the blame for Manchester United's failure falls on multiple elements rather than just the owners. He said:
“There are many, many elements that are missing, and we can’t blame one department of the club rather than another. It is a collective failure at the end of the day. And even if it is early in the season, there is a pattern that comes from the end of the last season that is repeating itself again. They give up too early.”
Mikael Silvestre backs Lisandro Martinez to bounce back at Manchester United
Defender Lisandro Martinez made the switch to Old Trafford from Ajax earlier in the summer, but has made a nightmare start to life in the Premier League.
The 5-foot 9-inch centre-back was targeted by Brentford's attack in their most recent clash. However, Silvestre believes the Argentine international can still become a success. The pundit stated:
“He knows how to perform in the air, he won a lot of headers back in Holland, so he knows how to compete in that department. I think it is a learning curve for him. And that’s is the Premier League, where the type of challenges you face are more in the air, more than in any other league. I think he is going to learn fast, and I am sure he will.”
He added:
“Reminds me of Patrice Evra when he first came to United. He had a difficult start, and he has achieved a lot with United after that. He has got the attributes to play in that position, or to adapt.”
