Gary Neville has said the speed of Ruben Amorim’s departure from Manchester United came as a “shock,” adding that the club’s next step should be appointing a manager who “fits the club’s DNA.”

Amorim, who was sacked on Monday, left with United positioned sixth in the Premier League. His last match in charge — Sunday’s draw at Leeds United — came five days after a dismal 1-1 home stalemate against basement club Wolves.

Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher is set to take charge of United’s trip to Burnley on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old has the lowest win percentage — 31% — of the seven managers who have taken charge at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013.

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Former United defender Neville told Sky Sports: “When a manager is sacked, it’s a poor reflection on everybody. It means it’s not worked.

“Ultimately everyone loses, particularly when you are sacking a manager partway through the season. It’s very difficult to get an adequate replacement in.

“I am surprised it’s happened this morning, I’m not surprised it’s happened. I didn’t realise it would happen so quickly. I did think they’d get through another couple of weeks and try and work out what to do.

“But obviously it’s become that challenging internally that they decided to do it very quickly, which was a shock this morning when I heard the news at 10 o’clock.

“If you look at some of the performances in the last month, they’ve really been shocking. However, there have been some bright spots along the way.

“The Wolves game seems to me to be the killer game. It was a bad one, that.”

Amorim is the latest coach to fail to turn United back into title contenders, following the likes of David Moyes, José Mourinho and Erik ten Hag in falling short of the standards set by Sir Alex Ferguson.

Neville said he wants United stop “the experiments” and appoint a manager “who fits the DNA of the football club.”

“The experiments have got to stop,” he said. “I’ve always been very proud of what this club is — adventurous, exciting football, playing young players and entertaining the crowd. They must take risks and have the courage to play attacking, aggressive football.

“United have got to a point where they need a manager who fits the DNA of the football club.

“Barcelona will never change for anybody. I don’t believe United should change for anybody. The club has to find a manager who has got experience and who’s willing to play fast entertaining, attacking and aggressive football.”

Rio Ferdinand “not surprised”; Paul Scholes keen on Thomas Tuchel

Former United centre-back Rio Ferdinand admits that while United’s record under Amorim has been disappointing, he did not expect him to leave so soon.

The 47-year-old told his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel: “He wouldn’t have been on my first three or four or five people that I would have put as managers to get the sack right now in the league, so I am surprised.

“But when you look at his record in black and white, I’m not surprised, which is weird, and it sounds weird when I say that.”

Amorim’s explosive comments in his press conference after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Leeds raised doubts over his own future by hinting at disharmony behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

He insisted he was the manager rather than head coach and urged United’s scouting department and sporting director to “do their job”.

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Former United midfielder Paul Scholes feels Amorim “talked himself into it” by questioning the club’s hierarchy.

Scholes said he believes United should make an approach for England boss Thomas Tuchel after the World Cup to take up the Old Trafford hotseat.

“I think Tuchel is one of the very best out there,” Scholes said on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast with former United team-mate Nicky Butt. “He would be my number one target — and his contract with England is only until the summer.

“I think he can be a bit temperamental and he could be quite difficult to handle, but he has done it at big clubs.”

Information from PA contributed to this story.