Gary Neville has delivered a scathing assessment of the current state of Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, declaring it “ridiculous” that Mason Mount has been playing wing-back.

Neville has admitted he is worried about United as he raised serious doubts about the club’s direction under Amorim.

United suffered a third defeat in six Premier League games this season when they were beaten 3-1 at Brentford on Saturday, with Amorim’s side failing to build on the previous week’s win over Chelsea. United have still not back-to-back Premier League games under the head coach.

“I’m very worried,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.

“The performance that we saw and the result at Brentford means that you feel the Chelsea game was skewed by the sending off. You start to look at the Chelsea win less positively. That’s just football.

“I think there are a lot of United fans coming out of that ground last Saturday, including me, thinking Brentford away, Sunderland at home next week has a real opportunity to get nine points on the board, on the bounce, and then you’ll be well up in the top six or eight.

“But the Brentford game was a really poor performance and a real worry.

“I felt for the first time, just through instinct, watching it on the television, seeing players’ faces and body language, that there might be an element of players really doubting the system and what’s going on.

“There was something that happened in that game that I mentioned on my podcast two or three weeks ago that I said we couldn’t see again. I said that Mason Mount ended up at left wing-back.

“There’s sticking to your plan and then there’s your coach that’s got an idea and making sure that he delivers that idea and not flip flopping with his idea with players, which can sometimes undermine what you’re trying to achieve.

“But then when you’re putting Mason Mount at left wing-back – and he’s ended up at left wing-back again at Brentford in the last five minutes to the game – it starts to look awful.”

He added: “You can’t put Mason Mount at left wing-back. I’m sorry, it just can’t happen. I can’t watch Mason Mount play left wing-back in a football team.

“I struggled at times to watch him in his natural position, but actually putting him out there on the left wing, is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.”

Few excuses now for Amorim

United boss Amorim has won nine of his 33 games in the Premier League and is yet to record consecutive victories in the competition 10 months into the job.

“Amorim has had a pre-season,” Neville said. “He’s had a week now in between each of his games because Manchester United aren’t in Europe. Yet the performances are as poor as ever.

“The results are catastrophic, really, in Manchester United terms. The money that’s been spent has been big and there are some things that I’m seeing that are a massive worry, and some things that can’t happen.

“So I am very concerned, I really am, because the manager’s obviously a good coach. He’s had a great record in Portugal but it’s not clicking at all.

“You’ve got to see what happens next Saturday against Sunderland – if that game goes against Manchester United, you’re going to start seeing very big questions being asked of the ownership, big questions.

“They brought a young manager in. He’s played a completely different system. They’ve invested in a completely different system. If they were to be 14th, 15th or 16th in October, it’s not a one-off. It becomes what you are.

“It becomes a pattern and the manager comes under huge pressure. We’ve seen what’s happened with Graham Potter in the last few days. That’s why I’m worried because this is not going to go away and it’s going to build in this next week or so.

“A victory is needed more than ever at Old Trafford on Saturday against Sunderland.”