Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said that results are more important than playing style after Ruben Amorim remained true to his philosophy at Manchester United. Guardiola’s team will battle for the Champions League spot in the last game of the Premier League away against Fulham.
Meanwhile, United suffered a 1-0 loss in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur, adding more misery to their season. The Red Devils lost the chance to qualify for the next season’s Champions League competition after the Europa League loss.
United are already facing major financial trouble and need to secure the Champions League spot to gain major revenues. However, without the financial boost, Amorim needs to work under a limited transfer budget and sell players to raise funds.
United appointed Amorim after sacking Erik ten Hag, hoping that the former Sporting CP boss could change their fortune. However, the squad that Amorim inherited has failed to adjust to his tactical style of play, causing more poor results.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola explains the need to be tactically flexible as Ruben Amorim remains reluctant to change at Manchester United
Amorim has lost 17 games from 41 matches in all competitions since taking charge of United, winning only 16 times. United players have faced the brunt of the overall criticism due to prolonged inconsistency and a poor mentality to improve.
However, Amorim has received criticism for meeting his squad halfway by compromising the playing style according to their needs. Amorim’s reluctance to change things despite United’s horrible form in the Premier League has raised many concerns.
The Portuguese boss refused to change his tactical style of play during the press conference after the Europa League loss. He said (via premierleague.com):
“In this moment it’s a little bit of faith, so let’s see. I’m always open. If the board and the fans feel I’m not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit. I’m really confident about my job and, as you can see, I will not change anything in the way I do things.”
Meanwhile, Guardiola has explained (via Mirror) why he is open to changes to accommodate his players, unlike Amorim at United. He said:
“The manager is good if you win – if you don’t, then his decisions are wrong. Any plan when you win, that’s really, really, really good. We are judged for our results, not for the way we want to approach the game. I thought after many, many years it might not be like that. But a manager is really, really good if he wins…if he doesn’t, then he has problems. If we have to play in a certain way to take a point then I will do it. If that means changing the principles, to sit back and wait for the transition, and play another way to take the point, then I will do it. I promise you I will do it.”
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United are facing a daunting task in the summer window to sell the surplus players and then find the recruits. Those recruits need to fit the profile that Amorim desires, and United management has to cover a lot of positions. With the big risk of failure hovering over the club like a dark cloud, Amorim remains adamant in his approach.