Roy Keane insisted Kalvin Phillips was 'sluggish' as Manchester United defeated West Ham 3-0 on Sunday.
After spending 18 months on the periphery at Manchester City, Phillips joined West Ham on loan until the end of the season, with David Moyes having long been an admirer of the former Leeds star.
In his second game for the Irons, Phillips replaced Vladimir Coufal at Old Trafford with Manchester United already 2-0 up thanks to goals from Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho.
With a momentum rarely seen this season, Erik ten Hag's side remained on the front foot throughout the closing stages, and Phillips was caught out as they cemented the victory with a third goal.
After receiving a pass from Ben Johnson, Phillips attempted to shield the ball from an onrushing Scott McTominay who managed to steal possession before playing in Garnacho for his second of the afternoon.
Commenting after the game Keane expressed his confusion over Phillips' intentions on the ball.
'And then listen Phillips, I don't know what he's trying.' He said on Sky Sports.
'The way I look at it, he's sluggish. But you've got to get punished and I think McTominay does really well here because it's just a nice weighted pass, three nil.
'I just think he comes at the wrong angle. We can make excuses for him but he's come at the wrong angle trying to shield people. Credit to McTominay, nice and aggressive. Game over.'
The incident marks just the latest example of the England international's difficult start to life in East London.
On Thursday, Moyes handed Phillips his first Premier League start since the final day of last season as the Hammers played host to Bournemouth.
Just three minutes into his West Ham debut, a misplaced pass from Phillips was latched onto by
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