Dimitar Berbatov has backed former Manchester United captain Roy Keane over his criticism of the struggling team.
Keane is now an outspoken pundit and over the last decade, he has been withering at times in his assessment of the club.
Well into Erik ten Hag’s second season, United are struggling and look unlikely to put anything right in the transfer market in the remaining days of the January window.
Speaking to Betfair, the Bulgarian backed Keane over his stance.
“Man United haven’t 100 per cent lost the fear factor yet because teams do still feel the history of Old Trafford and the trophies United have won," said Berbatov.
"When I played for United, teams were coming down the tunnel and they were losing the game already because they saw our team and we had that mix of great players and nasty players. You need that mix.
“And more than ever, United need players that are confident in their ability, they need to be nasty, like Roy Keane was, they need to sacrifice themselves for the team, they need to argue, scream and yell at their teammates if they need to in order to motivate them.
"They need to say, ‘This is f***ing Old Trafford, we need to show the opposition what this place is like. If we need to play good football we will, if we need to be nasty we will’. Sometimes that’s the missing link and that’s why teams are coming to Old Trafford and they’re more relaxed and thinking, ‘We can get something here’.
“Unfortunately times have changed and fewer players are going to be concerned about players like Roy Keane or Patrick Vieira. Not only were they great players, they had that dark side to sacrifice themselves for their teammates.
"Now in the United squad, I don’t see anyone getting close to Roy Keane. I don’t see any players going around on the pitch sacrificing themselves and when they need to, kick people and say, ‘This is f***ing Old Trafford, this is my f***ing place’.
"That’s why I say United’s players now are sometimes too soft and friendly with each other and towards the visiting team. They need to get that aggression back a bit more.“
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