Manchester United icon Bryan Robson believes that Ruben Amorim has taken on a more daunting task at Old Trafford than the one Sir Alex Ferguson faced nearly four decades ago. Despite having the legendary Robson in his prime, Ferguson inherited a struggling team in November 1986 and could only guide them to an underwhelming 11th-place finish that season.
It took the Scottish manager three-and-a-half years to secure his position by clinching the FA Cup and another three years to end United's 26-year title drought. However, Ferguson went on to become the most successful manager in the club's history. According to the club's former captain, Amorim faces an even larger rebuilding project.
"Amorim has got a massive job on his hands," Robson, who lifted the first of United's 13 Premier League trophies in 1993, told Mirror Sport with betselect.co.uk.
"Sir Alex had a similar rebuild. But when he came into the club, he brought Eric Harrison, Brian Kidd, and Nobby Stiles onto the staff and said 'go out and bring me the best young players from around Manchester.
"He ended up with the Class of 92 - and they came into a team that had already won the Premier League a couple of times. From then on, the club achieved unbelievable things - but that was Alex's vision.
"You could see the boss planning it. He brought in great players with great attitude - and that's why he was so successful as a manager."
Robson believes Erik ten Hag's successor, Amorim, faces a tougher task than Ferguson due to increased competition in the Premier League.
He added: "I think it's a lot tougher for Amorim because of the competition. Man United were massive back in the day, and people weren't talking as much about clubs like Liverpool and Arsenal.
"But now there are a lot of massive clubs with big owners. You've got a lot more competition now than Fergie had back in the day."
Robson, who joined United from West Bromwich Albion for a British record £1.5million in 1981, led by example as captain and is remembered as one of the great No. 7s for club and country.
The 68-year-old also praised current captain Bruno Fernandes' recent form, saying: "Bruno has been in fantastic form in the last two months.
"I think the manager has told him 'you've got to be a leader on the pitch.' I just hope Bruno stays away from the rolling over when he gets tackled and that sort of thing.
"Bruno is so confident at the moment, and he's making a massive difference. Bruno has done what I'd expect of a United captain.
"Unfortunately, the team hasn't been good enough to win as many major trophies as a club like Manchester United should win.
"When you're at Manchester United, you want to be winning the league and European competitions.
"There's no extra pressure on you as captain. You're proud to be the captain of a team like Manchester United.
"You love the responsibility. As the captain, the inconsistency of the team is not your problem. That's the manager's problem.
"I always say if you buy poor players, you're going to have a poor team. If you buy great players, you're going to have a great team."
This article was first published on Mirror Sport