Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admitted that he was grateful for the public show of support offered by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe even if he rails against the idea that success should be delayed.
After finishing an unthinkably lowly 15th following his mid-season appointment last term, Amorim has overseen a ruinous start to the new campaign. United’s home win against newly promoted Sunderland on the eve of October’s international break inspired little hope in a team which has lost half of their eight fixtures this season, including a humiliating EFL Cup exit at the hands of fourth-tier Grimsby Town.
Amorim’s future has been openly questioned—by himself and others—yet Ratcliffe came out to deliver an impassioned defence of his Portuguese coach.
The British billionaire in charge of United’s sporting decisions pledged to give Amorim at least three years to implement his preferred style of play, citing the slow start to life at Arsenal endured by Mikel Arteta before turning the Gunners into title contenders.
Speaking publicly for the first time since those reassuring affirmations, Amorim admitted: “First of all I can feel it, it is not just that thing that people say, I feel it every day.
“Sometimes the pressure I put on the team and myself is so much bigger. I know it is going to take a while. It is really good to hear that.”
However, Amorim was not entirely content with the idea that a club of Manchester United’s stature can simply afford to defer success for three years. “I think it helps our fans to understand that leadership know it is going to take a while. But at the same time I don’t like that because I don’t want that feeling in our club: that we have time to sort things out,” he countered.
“We need to prove, in football and at big clubs, that every week we are ready to win games.”
