Man United head coach Ruben Amorim is already under a sense of pressure to deliver results this season.
George is a Senior Football Writer for the Manchester Evening News, mostly covering Manchester United. He previously worked for football.london before joining the MEN team in July 2021. As well as covering United, George is a Championship-enthusiast and co-hosts The Championship Chat Podcast (@Champchatpod24), which you can find on all major podcast platforms.
Ruben Amorim applauds from the touchline at Craven Cottage.
Ruben Amorim watched his side draw at Fulham on Sunday.(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images.)
Just two games into the season and already some Manchester United fans are threatening to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
After an uplifting pre-season - both on and off the pitch - a return of one point from their opening two Premier League matches has brought some fans back down to earth.
Although United played really well against Arsenal on the opening weekend of the season and should have been out of sight by half-time against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, their opening two results have done little to inspire confidence.
Performances are one thing, and United's opening two this season have offered plenty of encouragement, but this is a results-driven business, and the Reds have made a disappointing start on that front.
Since succeeding Erik ten Hag last November, Ruben Amorim has won just 17 of his 44 matches in charge. In the Premier League, he has a paltry seven wins from 29 games.
While you cannot ignore the fact he inherited a mess last season and was tasked with installing a style of play that was alien to most members of his squad, results are what count in football and Amorim has not been on the right side of enough of them since becoming United head coach.
Calls from some United supporters to dismiss the Portuguese chief just two games into the season are, however, simply ridiculous. Amorim needed this summer to fix the squad and there are still a few days left of the transfer window for him to secure the tools he needs.
Nevertheless, there is still pressure on him to deliver results sooner rather than later to avoid fanciful calls for him to be dismissed to become that little bit more believable and substantial.
"There are no excuses now for the manager this season," former United striker Wayne Rooney said on his BBC podcast earlier this week. "He's got to start getting results and getting results quickly because once you start getting into October, November, if results don't change drastically, then that's when pressure comes."
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim needs two positive results this week.
Rooney isn't wrong. Despite going through managers and head coaches like they are going out of fashion in recent years, United, as much as they need a sense of continuity, do need to get results on the board.
The first international break of the season is almost upon us, and the prospect of going into the first lull of the campaign on the back of a sequence of negative results is going to do little for the mood over the course of the hiatus.
On the face of it, United could not have requested two better opportunities to sign off for the temporary pause, facing League Two side Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup second round on Wednesday night and then Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.
With the utmost respect to both sides, United should be winning both games. Anything less will be frowned upon, meaning there is arguably bigger pressure on Saturday's game than the midweek trip to the Lincolnshire coast.
A negative result in either will only strengthen Rooney's argument.