Manchester United told Ruben Amorim it was now or never when they offered him the job last year but that stance may have impacted his chances of success at Old Trafford.
Amorim is fighting to save his job
Amorim is fighting to save his job(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
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It didn't take long for Manchester United to identify Ruben Amorim as the man to bring the glory days back to Old Trafford following the departure of Erik ten Hag.
Amorim informed United of his desire to remain at Sporting for the remainder of the 2024/25 season, with the Portuguese chief keen to bring in his own players and spend a full pre-season with the squad before kicking off his United tenure. He was told it was now or never, and United had their man.
While the club's stance worked - and had United started this season in good form we'd all be praising the decision to appoint him mid-season in getting the teething problems out of the way last term - their ultimatum may well have done more harm than good.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe might be keen to view this campaign as Amorim's first at the club, but the disaster that was the 2024/25 season simply cannot be forgotten.
The league campaign was nothing more than an inconvenience in the final months of the season. It was Europa League or bust and United produced a performance befitting their season in Bilbao as they surrendered to perennial nearly-men Tottenham.
Had Amorim arrived in the summer, a new man full of new ideas with a winning reputation, the flurry of big-money moves and uplifting pre-season campaign would have been the perfect platform from which to launch the Amorim era.
As it is, the United boss' methods will forever be synonymous with the worst United team in 51 years. Trying to convince a group of players that the system that led them to their worst season in half a century is the one that will bring the glory days back to Old Trafford is a tall order.
It may well be that Amorim turns the ship around, but the United boss needs to starting picking up points and he needs to do it fast.
Ratcliffe may want to forget about last season, but it's not that simple.
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