Ruben Amorim will 'never get the respect back' from Joshua Zirkzee after substituting the Manchester United striker after just 33 minutes in Monday's 2-0 defeat against Newcastle. Zirkzee headed straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Kobbie Mainoo.

Forced into making a change as his side slumped to 2-0 down early on, Amorim hooked Zirkzee, who did later return to take his place on the bench as United failed to turn the game around. According to former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker, Amorim will be public enemy number one for his player now.

"It’s a tough experience for a player and a tough pill that Ruben Amorim will have to swallow," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "As a player, when you go through a moment like that, you need to think about the human element.

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"He will look at Ruben Amorim and never trust him again. He will be able to look at him and say 'good morning boss' but he will not have any respect for him deep down."

Just over six weeks into the job at Old Trafford, Amorim hasn't had things go his way. United have only further dropped down the table after Erik ten Hag's sacking, and questions are being asked of the former Sporting CP boss.

His call to go with both Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund in attack, leaving Christian Eriksen and Casemiro behind, exposed United to a more energetic Newcastle side. For Reo-Coker, the sub of Zirkzee was more than just a tactical shift.

"It’s an admission from Amorim that he got the team wrong," he claimed. "He’s going to have to try to fix the relationship because he will probably have to go back to him at some point and get him back on side and wanting to play and compete."

Zirkzee has only scored four goals for United so far having netted as a late introduction on his debut. For former player Gary Neville, it is a sad case. "I actually feel sorry for him, I really do," he said.

"I know he’s earning a lot of money here, but there is a human being in there that’s basically been cheered off by his own fans and that is brutal. I’ve not seen that too many times at Old Trafford in the 43 years I’ve been coming here, if at all, actually."

Amorim's explanation took a slightly different tone. "You have to think about the team and also sometimes about the player because the player is suffering," he said after the defeat.

"I was there a few years ago and I know that he wants it because I saw it during the week. That is the more important thing and he’s suffering during the game.

"I felt the team was suffering and needed another midfielder to have more and then we started to have more ball with Kobbie Mainoo. But it was really, really tough on me to do that and I talked with Josh about that because it’s important to express the message.

"But I’m always thinking about the team and, in that moment, it was important for the team [for] Josh [to] go out." Zirkzee has also been the subject of transfer interest after a tough first six months in England.