Roy Keane backed for sensational Man Utd return to help fix major 'problem' in Ruben Amorim's dressing room

Just a few days ago, former United coach Erik ten Hag, in his first public interview since his Old Trafford sacking in October last year, claimed that he had to go soft with the players at Carrington since they were pretty sensitive to criticism. He blamed social media for the change in mental fortitude over the years and even admitted that a direct and confrontational approach would "demotivate them".

Adding to the debate, former United defender Mikael Silvestre echoed Ten Hag’s concerns, arguing that many players in today’s game lack the thick skin that was once a staple of professional football. He suggested that bringing back a character like Keane, who is known for his no-nonsense approach, could help the United softies to toughen up.

Speaking toyaysweepstakes.com, former United defender Silvestre stated: "I think it would be great for Roy Keane to play a role at Manchester United. Because, the thing is with Roy, he always treated everybody exactly the same way. It didn’t matter if you were a new signing, an old guy, the manager, everybody. That's how he got respect. That's how Sir Alex got respect. If you treat everybody the same, no problem. Now, it's true you have players, and as soon as you say something to them, they don't collapse, but it affects them much more. We used to have thicker skin."

The Frenchman further criticised the current generation of footballers, pointing out how players today tend to dwell on mistakes and seek validation online and went on to refer to Joshua Zirkzee, who apologised on social media after missing a penalty in United's FA Cup shootout loss to Fulham, despite putting in a solid performance overall.

"Zirkzee apologising on social media about missing his penalty against Fulham. So you missed a penalty – you didn't kill anybody!" he said. "There is no need for that. Plus, he had a good game, so don't blame yourself. It happens. I can remember when Paul Scholes missed a penalty in the FA Cup final (2005) and we lost to Arsenal, he was one of the best players of his generation, but he didn’t apologise because that can happen in professional sport. You have to accept it and bounce back. I think it’s a bit of a problem with this generation of players. They find criticism harder to take."

Silvestre wants club legend Keane to be present in the United dressing room in some capacity as he has a reputation for talking straight and keeping everything in house.

"If Roy Keane was involved at Manchester United, if he was on the inside with the group, he would have to protect and work for the group, you wouldn’t see him criticising players in public, so there wouldn't be any issue," he added.

Ruben Amorim has struggled to turn things around since replacing Ten Hag. United have won just five of their last 16 Premier League matches, sitting in a disappointing 14th place after suffering eight defeats and three draws. The pressure on Amorim has only increased following Sunday’s FA Cup elimination, leaving him with little room for error as he prepares for a high-stakes clash against Arsenal on Sunday in the English top flight.