Even under immense pressure, Ruben Amorim still hopes he’ll have enough time to completely transform his team.
So far, there’s been little sign of Manchester United turning around their fortunes after promising to bounce back from past failures. In fact, things seem to be getting worse. Naturally, the pressure on coach Ruben Amorim is increasing. Asked if he might change his controversial formation, the Portuguese coach was clear: absolutely not.
It’s the same system that brought him great success at Sporting Lisbon and caught United’s attention in the first place. Amorim is confident it will work here too. He even emphasized, not even the Pope could convince him to change it.
Last season United finished 15th with just 42 points — their worst ever in the Premier League era. Amorim promised to bring the team back on track, but hopes have been fading within the first month of the new campaign.
After losing their league opener to Arsenal and barely scraping a draw against Fulham, United suffered a huge shock: crashing out of the League Cup to fourth-tier Grimsby Town on penalties.
A late win over Burnley seemed to hint at a turnaround, but after the international break United produced a flat performance at Manchester City, losing 3-0.
The run of poor results has fueled speculation over Amorim’s future at Old Trafford. Rumors are growing that he could soon be sacked. Those whispers gained even more traction when Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the club’s owners, suddenly arrived by helicopter at United’s Carrington training ground last Thursday.
Although the club later said Ratcliffe’s visit was “pre-scheduled,” the timing raised eyebrows. Asked about it, Amorim joked, smiling: “He offered me a new contract.”
He was then asked if Ratcliffe had suggested he switch from his 3-4-2-1 formation. Amorim responded with another light-hearted answer:
“‘No, no, no. Nobody said that. Not even the Pope…’”
“‘It’s my responsibility. It’s my life. So, I will not change it.’”
Amorim says his determination to stick to his plan is simple: if he folds under pressure, he’ll lose authority in the eyes of his players.
“‘If I were a player and my coach was under a lot of pressure and everyone was saying ‘You need to change your tactics’ and he also said ‘I will change,’ then the players would look at me differently.’”
“‘Every decision matters for how it affects the team. I will do my job my way. I hope I’ll have enough time to change the team’s situation.’”
United will host Chelsea at Old Trafford on Saturday at 10:30 pm Bangladesh time in their next Premier League match. Speaking in Friday’s press conference, Amorim admitted he knows the team needs to return to winning ways quickly.
After four games, United sit 14th with 4 points. Chelsea are fifth with 8 points.
