Manchester United’s executive branch are “disappointed” at Ruben Amorim’s admission the managerial role at Old Trafford “may be too big for him” but have ruled out sacking the Portuguese coach, according to a report.
The Red Devils face a season-defining clash with Tottenham Hotspur in next week’s Europa League final in Bilbao.
United are currently languished in 16th in the Premier League table, having already lost 18 games this season with a goal difference of minus 12.
The mathematical possibility of European qualification was lost a while ago, even if the realistic probability had died long before that. But it’s precisely this reason why the final at the Estadio de San Mames on Wednesday is so important.
It offers Amorim’s side the chance to add another trophy to the glittering cabinet at Old Trafford and, more importantly, secure automatic qualification into next season’s Champions League.
It’s a match worth as much as £100 million to the Reds such is the vast array of financial benefits entry into Europe’s elite competition brings.
And with a comprehensive overhaul of United’s first-team squad needed, every penny will count ahead of a pivotal transfer window this summer.
However, should United falter against Spurs in Spain – a side they have already lost three times to this season – officials at Old Trafford have already decided Amorim “will not be sacked”, according to Simon Mullock (Daily Mirror).
“United bosses believe it would be madness to make Amorim pay the price for a disastrous Premier League campaign that will see the Red Devils finish in their lowest position for 50 years,” Mullock states.
Interestingly, the reporter reveals, there is “some disappointment inside the Old Trafford boardroom over the Portuguese’s honest admission that the job may be too big for him.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe – United’s co-owner and ruler of the football operation at the club – has previously praised Amorim’s candour but the 40-year-old’s “brutal” assessments of his and his team’s performances have “led to concerns that he may walk out at the end of the season.”
As such, United executives will “seek assurances that the former Sporting Lisbon coach is not contemplating walking out before they make any summer moves in the transfer market.”
Featured image Marc Atkins via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
