Watch Roy Keane blast Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's persistence on playing Fred and his heated row with Micah Richards

Two weeks on from the embarrassing 5-0 home humiliation at the hands of rivals Liverpool, United fell to another one-sided defeat as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to their neighbours in the 186th Manchester derby, and it's fair to say the scoreline flattered the hosts.

Keane told Sky Sports: “It felt worse (than the 5-0 home defeat to Liverpool). City are quite a different team to Liverpool and they were happy to keep the ball. They just toyed with United. It was so poor, the difference in class, quality, decision-making.

“The old saying, men against boys, but United are so off it’s unbelievable. Foden said ‘it’s a tough place to come’ It’s not. Ask Everton, ask Aston Villa, ask Liverpool. Teams are coming here and getting a bit of joy.

“I look for characters – McTominay, Fred – but these players are not good enough for Man United. Bailly is erratic. You should be coming off the pitch drained of energy. But Foden’s chatting there as if he’s just had a practice game.”

When asked about his thoughts on Solskjaer, Keane said: "If Ole walked in here now I'd grab him and say why are you playing Fred!

"Ole was shook up in that interview. It’s tough for a manager when you’ve got beat in a match and he’s getting asked hard questions but he’s stepped up and he always has and I’ll give him that. But if you’re a manager, this morning he spoke about the players being in a good mood in the hotel, whatever the hell they were doing.

"You’re going into a match looking at the bus and [Luke] Shaw, [Harry] Maguire, Fred are there and your job is depending on these guys? You’re in trouble.

"You've got international players. Anyone who tells me Fred is good enough for United - they’re in cuckoo land.

"You don't know what you're gonna get with these players. Manchester United are in a bad place but is Ole the man to get them out of it? Huge question mark. It's more hope than belief. When they lose, it's his fault and when they get a result in midweek he's the luckiest man on the planet and it's down to Ronaldo. He needs to look in the mirror and realise he needs to do better.

"But if you've got bluffers on the bus with you and you're dependant on Shaw and Wan-Bissaka, Ole might be better out of it."

Keane and co-pundit Micah Richards also exchanged heated words about United's spending in an explosive moment of TV.

Keane added: "Ole seems to have been under pressure since he walked into the club and that isn't going to go away because from the first day he got the job, people didn't think he was up to it because of his track record and his CV at Cardiff, which was a tough job," said Keane.

"Ole has to take responsibility, of course he does. I've defended Ole for the last one or two years but he's the manager and he and his staff need to get more out of these players.

"Ultimately, I always think it comes back to your DNA. If somebody has to tell you to run and close someone down you are in trouble, but there's a lack of quality, particularly in midfield. They are so short in midfield in terms of physicality and quality."

Roy Keane's assessment of United's first-half during the interval was scathing.

He said: "This defending (for the second goal), (Luke) Shaw and (David) De Gea, not enough pressure. It’s OK sitting back, but you’ve got to realise it’s half-time and put pressure on. You’re on the ropes, stay in the game.. but what chance have you got?

“I’ve been crossing these fellas for years. I give up. I give up on these players. Right on half-time, these are international football players.

“I can’t understand the defending. I’m driving down here thinking ‘Man United are at home, they’ve got a chance’. But they’ve been like this all season giving up chances. Unless United do something drastic it’ll be another four or five.”

More from Sporting Life

• Fixtures, results and live scores
• Expert xG analysis and features
• Transfer news and done deals
• Football and other sports tips
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Podcasts and video content