A former Manchester United star has revealed his main ‘fear’ with Ruben Amorim as the ‘jury is out’ on the under-fire Red Devils head coach.
Amorim has had a torrid time since replacing former Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag towards the end of last year, losing 16 of his 42 games in all competitions.
The 40-year-old has struggled to implement his preferred 3-4-3 system in the middle of a season, with hisMan Utd squad unsuited to his chosen 3-4-3 formation.
Man Utd’s performances under Amorim have been worse than under Ten Hag at the start of this season, with the England giants finishing 15th in the Premier League.
The Red Devils had the opportunity to salvage something from this season as they faced Spurs in the Europa League final, with a trophy, huge prize money and Champions League qualification up for grabs.
But Man Utd did not turn up as they were deservedly beaten and Amorim is currently among the facourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
Former Man Utd midfielder Paul Ince reckons the “jury has to be out” on Amorim as he revealed his main “fear” with the head coach.
“It’s been disappointing and you can’t get away from that,” Ince told The Metro.
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“But the position that they’re in six months into Ruben Amorim is food for thought and concern. I know he hasn’t got the personnel that he wants in the team but also, I’ve not been convinced about the style and formation that he’s playing.
“It’s still Ten Hag’s team which was built for a different style, so now you’re seeing what happens when you play people out of position or in a system that many of them aren’t comfortable.
“But my fear is whether he can make that formation work in any case. United have never played three at the back in their history, and apart from Inter, all the best teams in the world play with that back four.
“With a lot of that current squad, we’re not talking about bad players. Some of these players earn a lot of money, and regardless of the formation, they have to be playing at a level higher than they are right now. To be fifth from the bottom is absolutely disastrous.
“They put all their eggs in one basket in terms of winning the Europa League and that performance was absolutely pathetic. Fans can understand performances dropping in the weeks before the final, but you have to show up, and they were diabolical. So the jury still has to be out.”
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Ince has also hit out at Man Utd’s board as they should have been in the ‘race” to sign two Liverpool stars.
“There’s plenty of work to be done from Amorim but also from those above because the recruitment has been really poor,” Ince added.
“Even if you look at that final, Luke Shaw has barely been fit all season and he has to fill in at centre back, you have a player like Ugarte who you spent £50m on and he doesn’t even start in the final.
“What has happened to Mainoo? A guy who was a world-beater last year and in the England side and now can’t get a game. So these are the questions that need to be asked over the next three or four months.
“I look at other players and think, why weren’t United in the race for them? Declan Rice, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister – these types of players.
“And conversely, no one seems to be challenging United for the players they want to buy, so that makes you think about the quality they’re bringing in and the recruitment strategy.
“They’ve got new people in and so you hope it’s going to change but you don’t always get time. I’m hopeful Amorim gets time, but I’m not ntirely sure what the vision is and if the formation works.”