Lack of pace is a running theme at a club suffering from woeful recruitment

LIVERPOOL Manchester United is one of football's great redletter fixtures but I can't recall a bigger divide between the teams.

Yes, United copped a 7-0 hammering at Anfield two years ago. While that was a freakish result, the drop-off in their running power since then has been alarming.

One experienced pundit said that, pound-for-pound spent in the transfer market, United are the worst team in the Premier League... and I have to agree.

If Ruben Amorim is going to turn it around, and mould a team in his preferred 3-4-3 shape, he must be given time.

But will the hierarchy who appointed him, after doing their due diligence, give Amorim the time to rebuild? United have already lost nine of their 19 league games this season and, in the short term, there may be more losses on the way before green shoots of recovery.

So the owners have to be strong and support Amorim (below) because he was their choice to succeed Erik ten Hag and they are not going to sack themselves.