Former Man Utd assistant manager Rene Meulensteen has given his verdict on whether Ruben Amorim should be sacked or not if the Red Devils lose to Tottenham in the Europa League final.
Man Utd have had a nightmare Premier League campaign with Amorim’s side currently winless in their last seven matches after they were beaten 2-0 by West Ham at Old Trafford over the weekend.
The Red Devils are 16th in the Premier League and have won just ten of their 36 matches, while only four sides have scored fewer goals than Amorim’s side this season.
Amorim is under pressure to turn around results ahead of next season with his side’s Europa League campaign glossing over a poor campaign.
Man Utd, who beat Athletic Bilbao 7-1 on aggregate in their semi-final, will face Tottenham in the final of the Europa League later this month with the winners qualifying for the Champions League next season.
There had been rumours that a loss in that match could prove costly for Amorim but The Guardian insisted yesterday that Man Utd ‘intend to retain’ Amorim ‘next season even if they lose the Europa League final against Tottenham’.
The Man Utd hierarchy believe that ‘the Portuguese deserves this summer transfer window to improve the squad and sign players better suited to his tactics’.
And former Red Devils assistant manager Meulensteen would back that decision and insists that Amorim “will definitely be there at the start of the season”.
In an exclusive interview with GiveMeSport, Meulensteen said: “You have to give Ruben another season. I’m sure he is not happy that he has not got more out of this squad in the Premier League. He keeps almost confirming that in every interview, which I find a little bit strange.
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“What people want to hear is a bit of reassurance. But if you keep saying ‘maybe I’m not the right man for the job’, it doesn’t sound good.
“I don’t know why he keeps saying it. It has been an amazing run in the Europa League and, against Athletic Bilbao, they were very good over two legs. There were no problems and it was a really confident walk into the final.
“But in the final they will play against Tottenham, who have had an equally disastrous season but it’s a Premier League team. Tottenham have definitely shown that they are capable of beating Manchester United.
“They haven’t been firing on all cylinders but, if they have got everybody fit outside of James Maddison and as long as they’ve got Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven fit and have stability in the backline, it’s a one-off game.
“Amorim will definitely be there at the start of the season, but he has to make improvements in the first three months of the season in the Premier League.”