Ruben Amorim was backed by Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who said he needs time to prove himself. But what must Amorim do to vindicate Ratcliffe's public backing?
Ruben Amorim has a clear problem to solve in order to get Manchester United in the upper echelons of the Premier League table
Ruben Amorim has a clear problem to solve in order to get Manchester United in the upper echelons of the Premier League table
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Ruben Amorim will have taken Sir Jim Ratcliffe's public vote of confidence in him one of two ways.
The Manchester United head coach may have welcomed his boss's public endorsement of him, along with Ratcliffe's belief that Amorim needs to be judged over the length of his three-year contract.
Or Amorim will have viewed the backing from Ratcliffe, like so many did, as the dreaded vote of confidence, the precursor to the inevitable sacking, having been so publicly supported by the man in charge.
Either way, Amorim knows the only way for him to remain in charge of United long-term and to continue to have the backing of the club's hierarchy, is with an upturn in results.
A haul of 37 points from a possible 112 is the kind of return that sees teams relegated and one Amorim knows cannot continue, even with Ratcliffe's three-year security blanket for comfort.
Ratcliffe, chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox will not hesitate to pull the trigger on Amorim if results do not improve significantly with immediate effect.
Ruben Amorim has been under pressure at Manchester United
United boss Amorim remains under pressure, despite Ratcliffe's recent endorsement of him
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In the interview in which he endorsed Amorim, Ratcliffe may have referenced the clamour for Sir Alex Ferguson to be sacked after a poor start to his United reign, before the era of unprecedented success he oversaw at Old Trafford.
Ferguson took four years to win his first trophy at United, the FA Cup in 1990, but time is not a luxury managers are afforded in today's game, despite Ratcliffe's insistence that Amorim needs time to prove his is, in his words, a “great coach”.
There is no doubting Amorim's coaching prowess – two Primeira Liga titles with Sporting Lisbon is testimony to that – but his intransigence in terms of his system and playing philosophy may ultimately be what costs him the United job.
In defending his contentious 3-4-2-1 system, Amorim is right to say United played with four at the back under his immediate predecessors and the players still struggled, so a change of system can hardly be solely responsible for their current woes and last season's 15th-placed finish, their lowest for 51 years.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
United co-owner Ratcliffe said Amorim needs three years to show he is a "great coach"
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But while his other rival managers have shown a willingness and ability to adapt their approach and formation when things are not going well and when the opposition demands it, Amorim has chosen to dig his heels in and double down on the way he sets up United.
Amorim has said on several occasions recently that if he were to change to playing four at the back, he would lose credibility and respect among his players, only to then muddy the waters by saying that he will, at some stage, change his formation, but not now.
Certainly, changing to a 4-2-3-1 system would solve the problem of Kobbie Mainoo's ongoing exile, enabling him to play in a midfield two with Casemiro and liberating skipper Bruno Fernandes from the current deeper-lying role that simply does not play to his attacking strengths.
Sir alex Ferguson with the Premier League trophy
Ferguson was under pressure in his early years at United before an unprecedented era of success
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But with Amorim seemingly unwilling to entertain the prospect of changing his system, he must find a way of getting the best out of the personnel within, in particular improving the delivery and threat from his wing-backs.
Amad has had a slow start to the season and missed the Brentford defeat following a family bereavement, but looked better in the 2-0 win over Sunderland, while Patrick Dorgu needs to improve his final ball if he is to start regularly ahead of Diogo Dalot.
Summer signings Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko have all made encouraging starts, while fellow new arrival, goalkeeper Senne Lammens, made an assured debut against Sunderland and has the No.1 position for now.
The task facing Amorim in the next few weeks is to put together a sustained winning run. He has yet to win back-to-back league games after nearly a year in charge, and while achieving that feat at arch rivals Liverpool next Sunday – even accounting for their current wobble – is unlikely, Amorim needs a statement win and performance.
Anfield would be the perfect place to do just that.