Roy Keane has told Kobbie Mainoo he has to prove Ruben Amorim “wrong” at Manchester United, but what his “idiot of a brother” did of late doesn’t help things.
Mainoo is not having a good time under Amorim. The 20-year-old midfielder was a prominent member of the United squad after breaking into the first team but that status has dwindled and he’s yet to start a league game this season.
The preferred midfielder pair is Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, while Mainoo is struggling to even get much off the bench – he’s been lucky to get 30 minutes in a lot of games.
There’s a lot of speculation over his exit, with many pundits and fans feeling he’d be better off elsewhere.
United legend Gary Neville has suggested he’s between a rock and a hard place, as he’s essentially been shown he can’t play alongside Fernandes but there’s no chance he’s going to play instead of him given the star’s form.
Fellow United legend Keane disagrees.
He said on Stick To Football: “Are you telling me that he can’t sit there for another six months? He might think the manager’s on his way out in the summer. He’s 20 years of age, what’s wrong with sitting and learning your trade? And even if he’s not getting a chance, we’ve all had to do it.
“Sometimes a manager is on your case and what you have to do is prove them wrong. Jamie [Carragher] made a point that he never felt like a regular at Liverpool, I never felt like that at United.
“Every day is your chance to prove yourself to the manager and when the manager is picking his team, [he goes] ‘he has to play.’ He’s got to get that in his mindset.
“And when he’s got his idiot of a brother doing all that, we shouldn’t even be giving that kind of stuff the time of day. Sometimes you’re just surrounded by idiots, especially the families.”
Keane was referring to Mainoo’s brother, Jordan Mainoo-Hames, of Love Island fame, donning a ‘Free Kobbie’ shirt in the crowd as the midfielder was given just 29 minutes against Bournemouth.
He is clearly in the camp that Mainoo should be allowed to leave if he’s not going to be given enough minutes, though Keane feels that gesture was unhelpful to his trajectory at United.
READ MORE: Souness tells Man Utd they ‘sold their best player’ as one star ‘looks like he’s never been coached’