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Manchester United needed a stoppage time penalty against Burnley last weekend to grab their first Premier League win of the season in three attempts, as well as to ensure their campaign did not get underway with four straight winless results.
After a defeat to Arsenal and draw against Fulham earlier in August, Grimsby Town knocked the Red Devils out of the Carabao Cup, a result which was met by words from Ruben Amorim which raised doubts about his future at Old Trafford.
In the aftermath of the Burnley game and with two weeks until Man United’s next game due to the international break, Emmanuel Petit believes that Ruben Amorim’s days at the club are already numbered. He said (h/t talkSPORT),
“Honestly, I don’t see him staying at Manchester United. I think the international break will decide if he stays or not. That’s my opinion.”
Amorim facing a similar dressing room as his predecessors
Ruben Amorim is unlikely to be fired by Manchester United so early in the season, especially given that it would come at the cost of a massive severance package, a liability which the club is not best-positioned to take over at this moment.
The Portuguese was backed reasonably well in the transfer window but his recent responses to the media suggest that the dressing room is still in disarray, and the lack of commitment from his players is the chief issue.
In truth, a team like Manchester United must not require the best of tactical interventions from their coach to overcome a Grimsby Town side, who had benched their top goal-scorer for the game and are playing four divisions below them.
United’s performance against Arsenal in the opening match of the season was promising, but the team’s inconsistent performances were there for all to see as they failed to trouble Fulham in the subsequent game.
Over the last few seasons, the coach has been made the scapegoat at Manchester United and it is seeming like Amorim might face the same fate, when the actual responsibility very possibly lies in the commitment of the players and the board’s financial goals.
It will be interesting to see how much patience Amorim has at Man United, but it is difficult to think that for their game against Manchester City, the Red Devils would have a different coach after the international break like Emmanuel Petit suggested.