The Sky Sports pundit said Ruben Amorim’s side, still floundering in 13th place in the Premier League table, must back up their showing when they face lesser sides.
United have had false dawns before, beating Manchester City last month before suffering defeats against Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle, failing to score a single goal in those three matches.
Amorim was perplexed after Sunday’s match, in which they showed impressive backbone and adventure, echoing the frustrations of his captain Bruno Fernandes.
“The expectations were so different to what we saw during the game,” Amorim said. “I get more mad because of the other games, because it’s even harder to understand other things.
“It’s not about the system, the technique, it’s something else and that’s hard to understand, even for the coach.”
Are Southampton the worst-ever team?
Southampton are on course to claim the title of the worst team in Premier League history from Derby, who set their unwanted record in the 2007/08 season.
The Saints, promoted last season after a single campaign in the Championship, have mustered just six points from 20 games — even Derby had one more point at the same stage. They went on to win 11 points in total.
