Ruben Amorim has struggled since taking the reins at Manchester United, and has already been told that his long-term future at the club is in jeopardy
11:19, 12 Sep 2025
Ruben Amorim speaks to the media
Ruben Amorim is under pressure at Manchester United(Image: 2025 Manchester United FC)
Charlie Austin has urged Manchester United to consider Sean Dyche as Ruben Amorim's replacement if Zinedine Zidane proves unavailable.
The Red Devils manager has endured a torrid start to the campaign, managing just one victory in their first three Premier League matches. But it was their stunning Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby Town that placed the 40-year-old's position under the microscope.
Following a woeful inaugural season in Manchester last term, where he guided the club to a disappointing 15th-place league position, Amorim began this campaign knowing he needed to deliver results.
Following their elimination by the League Two side, former Premier League striker Charlie Austin acknowledged on Sky Sports News that the embarrassing result warranted Amorim's dismissal, before suggesting Zidane should be their primary target as his successor.
"I think he's got to go, if it's my decision, I'm going after Zinedine Zidane," the ex-Queens Park Rangers forward declared. "I'll try to convince him to come to Manchester United. [It] shouldn't need doing but at this moment in time, you do.
"Ultimately, there are a different set of managers that you've got to be looking at, because the situation Manchester United are in, I would take Zidane but is he the right man for the job and how we see them, probably not," reports the Mirror.
Sean Dyche at Old Trafford
Charlie Austin has backed Sean Dyche to bring structure back to Manchester United(Image: Getty Images)
Having worked under Dyche for one season at Burnley, Austin insisted his former boss would be a perfect fit for United due to the organisational expertise he'd bring to Old Trafford.
"In my honest opinion, you have to look at the job Sean Dyche did at Burnley, what he did at Everton," Austin continued. "For me, he stabilised the club, at least he's going to put structure in there.
"Zidane is the top of the tree for me, but what the club needs now is structure because that is something they do not have. I know Manchester United fans will look at me saying, 'he said Sean Dyche', no, they need structure [and] that is a man who will come in and make the team a lot better than what we are all seeing."
With Amorim's squad set to face Manchester City on Sunday, it marks only the second match United have played since he launched a scathing attack on his entire team following their defeat to Grimsby.
Zinedine Zidane posing with the Champions League title
Zinedine Zidane won three Champions League titles across his two stints as Real Madrid boss(Image: GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)
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He delivered an ominous warning: "With all respect, when you play against a fourth division team, it's not the goalkeeper, it's everything. It's the environment. It's the way we face the competition. Everything. With that performance today, my players spoke for me really loud."
Dyche has remained unemployed since January when Everton sacked him, whilst Zidane has been absent from management since departing Real Madrid in 2021. The Frenchman has exclusively managed the Spanish giants across two separate spells, securing three Champions League crowns and two La Liga titles.