Here, we delve into what Amorim has had to contend with after barely five weeks in the job.
Ditching Ruud van Nistelrooy
Amorim’s first big call was to tell the prolific former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy – who won three games in an unbeaten four-match stint as Erik ten Hag’s interim replacement – he had no place on his coaching staff. Van Nistelrooy had been brought to the club only in the summer and has since taken over as Leicester manager, a team he beat twice during his temporary spell in charge at Old Trafford.
Fan protests
Amorim’s first Premier League home game as United head coach came amid a backdrop of angry protests from fans about rising ticket prices. Supporters – furious at United’s decision to introduce a new flat rate £66 members’ ticket for adults, seniors and kids for the remainder of the season – demonstrated before the 4-0 win over Everton.
Jim Ratcliffe signalled the threat of ticket price rises next season in an interview with the ‘United We Stand’ fanzine this month by claiming United supporters should not be paying less than a ticket to watch Fulham.
Dan Ashworth exit
Amorim had only been in the job 27 days when sporting director Dan Ashworth left after barely five months in the role. United had spent as long trying to prise the former FA technical director out of Newcastle as he spent actually working for the club. Amorim’s appointment had been led and driven by United chief executive Omar Berrada but Ashworth’s exit still represented more upheaval to the football management team put in place to work with and around the coach.
Dropping star pair
Many of Amorim’s predecessors complained about the culture and standards in the dressing room and now the Portuguese will know exactly what they meant. Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were both dropped for Sunday’s 2-1 derby win over Manchester City after falling foul of the standards Amorim expects on and off the pitch, all the more so at a time when rank-and-file staff are losing their jobs.
Explosive Rashford interview
With Andre Onana again looking error-prone and United particularly vulnerable defending corners, Amorim has enough on his plate without his most high-profile player now publicly revealing he wants out. Rashford was ill on Monday but on Tuesday gave an interview on a day off to the football journalist Henry Winter in which he admitted he was ready to quit United. Rashford’s admission shifted the spotlight away from the warm afterglow of the dramatic late derby win and has instead overshadowed preparations for last night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham and ensured the subject of the England striker’s future is likely to dominate the January transfer window.
Team leaks
Another long-standing problem Amorim has inherited is the regular leaking of United’s starting XI on social media. It is an issue that has gone on for well over six years, dating back to Jose Mourinho’s days as manager, and one that Amorim has claimed will be “impossible to fix”. Indeed, the head coach’s focus has been on those matters he can control and not the uncontrollables that he could waste a lot of time and energy fretting over.
Mason Mount’s latest setback
Amorim has made no secret of how much he likes Mount and how he believes the England midfielder is the “perfect” fit for his 3-4-2-1 system.
But Mount has been plagued by injury problems since his £60 million move from Chelsea last year and he lasted just 14 minutes against City before his jinx struck again in what was only his second league start since late August.
Much like left back Luke Shaw, whose comeback from a lengthy lay-off lasted all of 98 minutes, Mount’s fragility will be an increasing cause of concern for Amorim.