Manchester United insist Ruben Amorim retains the support of the hierarchy, but there's no doubt this weekend's clash with Sunderland is a huge game ahead of the international break.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)View 3 Images
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim faces a huge game on Saturday when his side host a resurgent Sunderland at Old Trafford.
Although United insist Amorim retains the full backing of those in charge and there are no plans to replace him, failure to beat Sunderland would increase the pressure on the Portuguese head coach.
Ahead of a massive game for Amorim, we take a look at the games that ultimately decided the fate of his predecessors in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
David Moyes 2013-14
Endorsed and hand-picked by Ferguson, Moyes failed to see out a full season, his ill-fated tenure lasting just 10 months. United had suffered 10 Premier League defeats before the game that finally did for Moyes.
Having been knocked out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich, Moyes took United to his former club Everton four days later. The abiding memory of United's limp 2-0 defeat at Goodison Park was a fan dressed as the Grim Reaper, standing behind Moyes. It proved prophetic, with the Scot sacked two days later.
Mourinho won two trophies in his fist season at United but was sacked after a 3-1 defeat at LiverpoolView 3 Images
Louis van Gaal 2014-16
Having steered United back into the Champions League in his first season in charge, things started to unravel for the hugely experienced and decorated Van Gaal in his second campaign.
Although Van Gaal won the FA Cup in his final game in charge of United, beating Crystal Palace 2-1, his fate was sealed well before then, with United's 2-0 Europa League knockout defeat at home to arch rivals Liverpool in March convincing the board of the need for change. Van Gaal was sacked less than 48 hours after United's Wembley triumph.
Jose Mourinho 2016-18
The self-proclaimed 'Special One' delivered League Cup and Europa League success in his first season in charge and hailed United's second-place finish behind Premier League champions Manchester City the following season as one of his greatest managerial achievements.
Mourinho eventually came unstuck, a 3-1 defeat at arch rivals Liverpool, where his personal feud with Paul Pogba saw him keep the World Cup winner on the bench throughout the loss, ultimately sealing his fate with his dismissal two days later.
Ten Hag led United to FA Cup glory in 2024 but was sacked nine league games into last seasonView 3 Images
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 2018-21
Former United striker and hero of the 1999 Treble triumph, Solskjaer took over from Mourinho on a caretaker basis with the remit of putting “smiles back on faces”.
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A 3-1 win at Paris Saint-Germain, to reach the Champions League quarter-finals, with most of his first-choice team injured, saw Solskjaer appointed on a permanent basis. But just like his predecessors, he could not continue the team's upward trajectory, a 4-1 defeat at Watford – in which Harry Maguire was sent off - signalling the end of his spell in charge, a month short of three years.
Erik ten Hag 2022-24
Like Mourinho, Ten Hag won the League Cup in his first year in charge and took United back into the Champions League with a third-place finish in the Premier League.
Ten Hag fell victim to second season syndrome at United, who finished eighth, although the Dutchman gave himself a stay of execution by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final to get the Reds into the Europa League. But Ten Hag was sacked nine league games into last season, his final act a 2-1 defeat at West Ham.