Eight Ruben Amorim sack verdicts from THIS WEEK as pressure mounts on Man Utd boss

Ruben Amorim continues to be weighed down by pressure on his role at Manchester United after just one win in his first five games this season

The pressure on Ruben Amorim has been steadfast ever since his arrival at Manchester United 10 months ago. The Portuguese boss replaced Erik ten Hag last November as the Red Devils boss, but almost a year on, it’s been a simply dire period for fans across the globe.

After a 15th-placed Premier League finish last season, the club’s worst since the inaugural season of the top-flight, clear progress continues to seemingly evade the 40-year-old in his bid to bring success back to Old Trafford.

With United having played six games across all competitions this season, they’ve earned just one victory which came against Burnley and are already out of the EFL Cup due to a shock upset loss against Grimsby Town.

Despite the negative results, Amorim has dug his heels in when it comes to continuing with his system, as he said following their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City: “When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man. I believe in my way and I am going to play my way until I want to change.”

With a desperately key clash against Chelsea next up for the Red Devils, pressure on Amorim will only continue to mount if he doesn’t take all three points on Saturday. Mirror Football takes a look at the preeminent verdicts from media on what Amorim’s future should hold.

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Jamie O’Hara

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder earlier this month admitted he’s surprised Amorim has remained in his job at Manchester, given the disappointing start of the season he’s presided over.

“I can’t believe Ruben Amorim is still in charge,” he said on talkSPORT. “When are they going to let it go? When are they going to just… do what Sheffield United have done, just swallow their pride [and say] ‘we got this wrong?’

“Get Ole back in. They can’t carry on doing this. They’ll go down. They’ll be playing Rotherham next season.” Believing the Portuguese manager has run his course at Old Trafford, O’Hara claimed a re-appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was sacked by Besiktas last month, would be a step in the right direction for United.

Speaking prior to their win against Burnley, the pundit said on Sky Sports News: “Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ain’t the worst shout in the world. He can come in, he can be a stopgap manager, interim manager, get players back onside.

“I believe that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, if you get him back in, go back to the formation that they were playing before, get the players back onside, give them a bit of freedom, and I think they can maybe just calm everything down.”

Rene Meulensteen

The ex-United first-team coach lamented Amorim’s stubbornness to his footballing philosophy and claimed that if the negative results continue, he sees a reality where the 40-year-old faces the sack before Christmas.

Speaking to football betting site BetVictor, the Dutchman said: “Could Ruben Amorim be gone before Christmas?, Absolutely, he could well be. And I think if he keeps being as stubborn as he is and the results don’t improve, he doesn’t keep winning, then there’s definitely no other way than the club has to make a decision.”

In the possibility that Amorim exits the club, Meulensteen advocated for Michael Carrick’s return to United, with the former England midfielder having been out of a job since his sacking from Middlesbrough this past summer.

He added: “Michael Carrick might be the obvious option if Ruben Amorim is to go. Obviously Michael Carrick still knows quite a few players that were there when he was there. So he’s still got some good inside information. He obviously knows the club. He knows what’s expected from the club.”

Ben Foster

Foster, 42, said the possibility of dismissing Amorim has been an idea for a while, given how their season went last year, but a decision hasn’t been triggered yet. The former United goalkeeper urged the manager to change his system if he wants a change of fortune.

Speaking on his Fozcast podcast, he said: “It’s been rumbling for a long time. Nobody wants to really commit to it [sacking Amorim] but I guarantee you that if they’ve got eight points and they’re still in 14th position after eight games, somebody’s going to have to pull the trigger.

“It can’t carry on like that. It’s nearly a year since he’s been managing and it’s been proven that it’s not working. I get that he wants to play that system, but if you haven’t got the players, you can’t play it. Surely you just play your best players in their best position, because then you’ll get the best out of them.”

Chris Sutton

The former Chelsea striker said the consistently bad performances and results United keep providing will eventually give Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football, no chance but to make a decision on Amorim’s future.

“I think Manchester United have got real issues now,” Sutton said on BBC Five Live’s Monday Night Club. “How long has he been in charge? Is it his team now? Yes, it is. Is it working?

“If he is going to be that stubborn and be unwilling to change… If he is going to stick with this system and it is not working, then I am afraid Jason Wilcox and the Man Utd hierarchy have a decision to make based on performances we have seen this season.

“What is the ambition of Man Utd this season? I don’t really know, but the fact that they are already out of one cup and there’s no European football… The pressure is well and truly on.”

Gary Pallister

Amorim holds a woeful 26% win ratio at United with just eight wins in 31 Premier League games in charge. Despite the horrendous record, Pallister was insistent that patience will exist in regards to Amorim’s future which he said won’t be harmed by their loss to City.

Speaking exclusively to The Manchester Evening News, via online betting site BetWright, the Red Devils icon said: “I don’t think it’s going to impact his future at the moment. Without [Matheus] Cunha, without Mason Mount… Cunha, I think, brings a bit of personality and character to the team.

“I think Mason was desperate to do well. I think he started [the season] okay. And then we lose them both to injuries. I think there’ll be patience. Everybody’s going to put him under the pump for sticking with the back three.

“It’s not what a lot of teams do. And the longer it goes, and the longer we struggle with it, the more questions are going to be asked.”

Gary Neville

The Manchester United legend said Amorim has no time to waste following the below-par start to the season. With United already nearing the bottom of the table just four games in, Neville admitted their upcoming clash against Chelsea holds tremendous weight regarding his future at the club.

Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast following their derby day defeat, the pundit said: “Ruben Amorim is going to come under big pressure, he’s going to come under big pressure, Manchester United are 14th in the league.

“It’s only a few games in, it’s four games in, but next week, if Manchester United lose and they go and they go to 15th or 16th and it’s five games in, before you know it we’re in October and Manchester United are in the bottom half of the table and that’s where they couldn’t be, having spent £200 million, with him having a pre-season.

“They might be seventh, eighth, ninth, they could be in those types of positions, but they can’t be in the bottom half of the table, so there’s got to be a turnaround pretty quickly, and the manager’s idea has got to land very quickly with the players.”

Jeff Stelling

Amorim has made no qualms about walking away from United if the ownership and fans no longer have belief in his ability to do the job. The former Soccer Saturday presenter took Amorim’s words on board and admitted he believes there’s a possibility he resigns. “I think there is a chance,” said Stelling on talkSPORT.

“I think he has looked pretty disillusioned and some of the things he has said – says to me he is pretty disillusioned. They are playing Chelsea this weekend but I am not sure the players are buying into [the system].”

Alan Shearer

The Newcastle icon is another who pointed out the lack of suitability the United players have shown in Amorim’s style of play. In what was utter domination by City in their 3-0 triumph this past weekend, Shearer admitted that Amorim can’t afford to lose like that against Chelsea.

Speaking to Betfair, he said: “I don’t think they can afford to be beaten like that again this weekend. If they were then you’d have to fear for what’s going to happen going forward for the manager. Something must improve rapidly.

“Man United can’t be lingering in 14th/15th/16th in the Premier League. There hasn’t been an improvement at all up to now and that can’t continue with what they spent. It’s on both the manager and players but I do think there’s a lot in the system and despite what the manager says, he’s not going to change his ways, he’ll stick to that system.

“He’s either going to die on his sword or get the success that he needs. At the minute it looks really negative, and I don’t think a lot of those players are suited to the system.”

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