By LUKE POWER
Published: 07:45 EST, 11 December 2024 | Updated: 07:50 EST, 11 December 2024
Ruben Amorim reportedly fears that the Manchester United job is more difficult than he vouched for.
Any momentum in the sails of his arrival has been buffeted by back-to-back defeats by Arsenal and Nottingham Forest - only the second time he has suffered consecutive league losses as a manager.
Amorim hadn't lost a league game all year before arriving at Manchester United, and you have to go back to February 2023 for his previous home loss in any domestic competition.
But with an ailing squad, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's unpopular decisions, and the exit of sporting director of Dan Ashworth, the Portuguese believes the job is 'more complicated' than the one that was pitched, according to ESPN.
United sit 13th in the table with 19 points after 15 games - eight worse than at the same stage last campaign, which turned out to be their worst Premier League season.
Amorim has won two, drawn one, and lost two of his five games in charge, but even one of those wins was a struggle, with United having to come from behind to beat Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt 3-2 at Old Trafford in the Europa League.
Ruben Amorim reportedly believes that the Manchester United job is more complicated than he initially realised
Of course, Amorim realised that this was going to be a difficult job.
His style as a manager relies heavily on hard running and high pressing - only Manchester City, Benfica, and Portohad higher defensive lines since the start of the 2023-24 season before he left Sporting CP.
But being flown into Carrington in mid-season means that he cannot adjust everything radically and make all the changes he would like with immediate effect.
He has been taking extra sessions on United's academy pitches to make up for the lack of time with the squad.
He also refrains from having too many personal meetings with players, leaving that to his sidekicks so that he can maximise his time out on the pitch, ESPN reports.
More to follow.