Inside Track: Pundits red-faced? Maybe not

If Keith Andrews and Ruben Amorim are feeling a wee bit smug right now, it’s easy to understand why. Their teams are nicely placed in the Premier League, one in the top four, the other in mid-table.

This was all before last weekend’s games. But even if they didn’t go as well as their managers expected, there’s unlikely to be any great shift in Manchester United’s and Brentford’s position.

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As anyone with even a passing interest in football across the water will know, Amorim is in charge of Man U. He was under pressure a few weeks back as his team mixed mediocrity with the awful.

There were few smiles at Old Trafford, and no sympathy from the pundits, some of them, Roy Keane included, former wearers of the famous red jersey.

The backing Amorim got from the club’s part-owner, Jim Ratcliffe, when the going was rough a few weeks ago, was at best lukewarm. y

It could be interpreted as: Turn things around and you’ll be alright, don’t, and you could be on the road – the one that’s since been trodden by Ange Postecoglou.

Ruben got the result he was looking for in the game with Liverpool, and after that, there was a win over Brighton.

From being in the wrong half of the table, when the forecasts of doom and gloom were at large, United found themselves looking at the possibility of making Europe.

United are not on the continent this season, and that could be of benefit as they try to reacquaint with the glory days. There’ll be no midweek matches, which will allow for a concentration on domestic competition.

As the pundits flexed their tongues before the league had its first kick-off, Keith Andrews came in for mention, little of it favourable.

The former Republic of Ireland International was dipping his toe in management for the first time, taking over at Brentford, just before the Bees headed out on their third year in the Premier.

This didn’t sit well with Keane, in particular, and the man, Martin O’Neill, who Keane had shared duties in charge of the Ireland team a number of years back.

You could say this was payback time. In a former life, Andrews was a pundit, commenting every so often on the O’Neill/Keane tenure. Fair to say he was unsparing in his criticism of the duo, as they have been of him since.

It was expected, therefore, that when Andrews took to the sideline, he wouldn’t find favour with Keane in his regular spot with Sky.

Nine games on and – as of the time of writing – Brentford are on 13 points, 11th in the table, and celebrating the biggest win they’ve had since returning to the top tier.

That came in a 3-2 win at home, their victims, Liverpool, once again providing food for the needy. Now it’s the ‘Pool’s Slot’s turn to be in the eye of a storm.