For Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to turn things around, he'll have to exhibit some adaptability—and fast. That's the opinion of former United defender Mikael Silvestre, who's convincing that Amorim needs an alternative to his failing strategy if he wishes to spark life into the team's performance.
Despite Amorim's committed stance on his football ethos, stating he wouldn't compromise it, Silvestre counters that the ability to implement a Plan B is essential for successful managers.
Speaking to Yaysweepstakes, he elaborated: "I think he could have changed his system a little bit. We know that he wants to play a 3-4-3, we know that he was incredibly successful at Sporting playing that system but I think he should have also realised that he doesn't have the perfect squad to implement his preferred tactics and tweaked things a little bit.
"If we talk about the best managers or the top managers, they are able to switch from a back three to a back four or they change the formation completely.
"In modern football, you need to be flexible, you need to be able to adapt to injuries and sometimes you have to adapt to an opponent that is superior to you. I don't think the team would play worse if they were playing in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 because we haven't seen any improvement in the relationship between the players since Amorim has come in."
Last summer, United splashed out over £206million on six new signings for Erik ten Hag, only to dismiss the underperforming Dutchman just months later.
Now, Amorim is hopeful of a fresh wave of recruits, ideally suited for his preferred 3-4-3 formation, to turn the tide at Old Trafford. However, the club's debt could pose a significant hurdle to these plans.
Silvestre remains optimistic about the future of United, particularly with captain Bruno Fernandes and the array of young talents at the club. He elaborated: "Bruno is committed, he wants to fight. You also have players like Amad Diallo, who has been a tremendous and a wonderful player – he has been the breakout star at United this season.
"The emergence of Kobbie Mainoo is encouraging, Alejandro Garnacho is finding his feet, Noussair Mazraoui has had a decent first season then with Patrick Dorgu, let's wait and see. United have players that look like they will be stars in the future.
"These players are going to hopefully be part of the next generation, Amorim's first proper team, because at the moment, he's the manager, but these are not his players. It's a big job at United for Amorim in the summer. I think all of the guys I mentioned can be part of things moving forward, they can be part of the rebuild."