"You don't pour petrol on the flames!" - Jamie Carragher hits out at Ruben Amorim over 'worst' Manchester United team comment

Jamie Carragher has slammed Ruben Amorim after the Portuguese boss admitted that his Manchester United side are probably the worst team in the club's history.

Amorim took over the reins at Old Trafford after Erik ten Hag was sacked in October last year for their terrible form under his leadership. The former Sporting CP manager has failed to turn things around for the Red Devils.

Manchester United are 13th in the Premier League table, 14 points adrift of the top four. At this stage of the season, Amorim's men are a long way off from securing European football next term.

After their disappointing 3-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion last Sunday (January 19), Amorim made an honest admission about his side being the "worst team" in Manchester United's history.

Carragher has criticized the 39-year-old for his comments. He said on Sky Sports:

"I don't know why he said that. He had a smirk on his face when he was saying it as well. He almost knew the magnitude of his words."

"I've got no time for this Manchester United team. I've been watching them for 4 or 5 years with different managers."

The Liverpool legend continued:

"I don't know what he's trying to do! Manchester United lost a game at home to Brighton. We've just seen the graphic, they've done it two years in a row. We came in today... We weren't even going to speak about Manchester United. It's happened before, it'll happen again. That's the trajectory the club is on. But for the manager to make a statement like that..."

"I don't feel for the players or their confidence. I mean half of them are a joke anyway. But I would be very surprised if the powers that be above him [Amorim] will have a very strong word with him and say 'You can't speak like that as a Manchester United manager and engulf the situation'. You don't pour petrol on the flames!"

United will next face Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday night (January 23).

Emmanuel Petit on Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim's 'worst team in history' comment

Former Arsenal and Chelsea star Emmanuel Petit has offered his two cents on Ruben Amorim's comments about his United side. The Frenchman recalled Enzo Maresca's previous statement about Chelsea's title chances this season.

The Blues were in excellent form under Maresca and found themselves two points behind league leaders Liverpool at one stage in December. As a result, the west Londoners saw title shouts being made by many.

However, Maresca remained insistent that Chelsea are not in a title race this season. Petit believes such statements can affect the dressing room's frame of mind and drew comparisons between Maresca and Amorim in that regard.

He said on Sky Sports:

"Players are listening, you know. I don't understand. It's like with Maresca as well. Before Christmas time, he said that his team was not challenging for the title. I mean if you think that, you have to keep it a secret because you're the manager."

"It's something that impacts the dressing room. It goes into the player's mind and at that moment, the players don't need that. They need confidence. They need something strong, you know, strong messages. This is, for me, a really bad message to send to your players."