Ruben Amorim has endured a rocky start to his first full season as Manchester United head coach, and former Red Devils defender Phil Jones believes some players may not even like the Portuguese boss
Ruben Amorim the head coach / manager of Manchester United applauds at full time with his players
Ruben Amorim has been told some of his Manchester United cohort don't like him
(Image: Getty)
Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones thinks some players at the club may not be fans of head coach Ruben Amorim, a sentiment he believes is common in most football clubs.
The Portuguese manager, who was backed with over £200million this summer, is currently navigating his first full season at Old Trafford. Despite a promising start, a valiant league defeat to Arsenal, a lacklustre 1-1 draw against Fulham quickly dampened spirits.
United's morale hit a new low when they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by Grimsby Town, leading to calls for Amorim's dismissal. A narrow 3-2 victory against Burnley did little to quell the unrest within the club.
Adding to the turmoil, Jones, who made over 200 appearances for United, has now suggested that a number of Amorim's squad are not keen on their manager, reports the Mirror.
"Do I think there were players at United who didn't like him? To be honest, that's probably a ridiculous question because I'd say there are people in the United team now who don't like the manager," Jones told Ladbrokes at the launch of Ladisfaction.
"But there are probably players at Man City who feel the same way about [Pep] Guardiola; they can't stand him. There's people like that in every team.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim sitting in a dugout with his coaching staff
Amorim has endured a tough start to the new season(Image: Getty)
"These are big groups of players and different personalities, and all of them are competitive, and think they should be playing more than they are.
"That will never, ever change. Even when a manager is flying, there will always be someone going, 'Well, he's not playing me, so he's not good.'
Trust me, I've been there myself. I've been a young kid moaning about training being rubbish. But in reality, it's not rubbish; you're just hurt and you don't know how to deal with it.
"You have to realise what's going on, pull yourself out of your a*** and get back to where you need to get back to. Nine times out of ten, that's what the problem is.
"That comes with experience, though. The more mature I got, the more games I played and the more managers I had, the more of an understanding I had about it all.
"You know, it wasn't the manager who was the problem, it was me. When I think of some players now, more often than not, they find it very easy to just pass the blame onto the manager.
"The manager wasn't great, the coaches who took the training session weren't great. But, really? Was that the case? Were they not great, or were you not great? Which one was it?"
Amorim and United are set for a challenging period following the international break, beginning with a trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on local rivals Manchester City. The Red Devils will then host Chelsea at Old Trafford in what represents two pivotal matches for Amorim's reign.