Ruben Amorim[1] has welcomed the backing of Manchester United[2]’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe[3], but admitted it will mean little if he fails to deliver results.
Ratcliffe gave Amorim a huge vote of confidence during the international break by claiming the United head coach deserves to be given another two years to prove himself after a difficult first 12 months at Old Trafford.
But although Amorim is happy to have the support of Ratcliffe – as well as his chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox – he knows it will not save him from the sack if United continue to struggle.
‘It’s really good to hear that because of the noise,’ said Amorim ahead of Sunday’s clash with Liverpool[4] at Anfield.
‘He tells me all the time, sometimes with a message after games, and Omar and Jason tell me. I feel it every day.
‘But you know, I know and Jim knows that football is not like that. Even with owners, you cannot control the next day in football, so I know that.’
Ruben Amorim has welcomed the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe after the Manchester United owner gave him time to prove himself
Ratcliffe gave Amorim a huge vote of confidence during the international break despite United’s poor run of form
Amorim is also wary that such a show of support could create a comfort zone within the club and his squad which he doesn’t want.
‘I think it helps also our fans to understand that the leadership understand it’s going to take a while,’ he added. ‘But at the same moment I don’t like that because it will give a feeling that we have time to work things out, so I don’t want that feeling here in our club.
‘Sometimes the pressure that I put on the team or on myself is so much bigger than them. I know that it’s going to take a while, but I don’t want to think like that.’
Amorim admitted he has no idea how long it will take United to close the gap on arch rivals Liverpool as the two clubs prepare to clash in their 100th Anfield meeting on Sunday.
Liverpool equalled United’s total of 20 titles last season and are one of the favourites to win the Premier League again this term despite losing their last three games in all competitions.
Asked when United could realistically be genuine challengers to Liverpool again, Amorim replied: ‘That I don’t know. Sometimes things change really fast, but if you see the history of both clubs you can feel it that sometimes you have one club that is winning, winning, winning and the other club is having a bad moment.
‘That happened with Liverpool when Manchester United was winning everything, and that happened with Manchester United when Liverpool was winning everything.
‘So we just have to acknowledge that, to be really honest with the fans – but we can win any game.
The Manchester United manager is set to stick with Senne Lammens (above) in goal after the young Belgian impressed on his debut in a 2-0 win over Sunderland a fortnight ago
‘If we are going to fight and to be at the same level of Liverpool in the future, that is the idea. I don’t know how long it is going to take.
‘I know that it is special for our club. I know that they are fighting all the time (with Liverpool) for the number of titles. I know what it means to the fans, but again it’s one game that we need to prove again that we are playing better.’
Amorim is set to stick with Senne Lammens in goal after the young Belgian impressed on his debut in a 2-0 win over Sunderland a fortnight ago.
The United fans paid him the ultimate compliment by signing ‘Are you Schmeichel in disguise’, but Amorim said: ‘He’s not Schmeichel yet. Of course, he did a great job.
‘He is a young guy with talent and he shows a lot of composure, and the fans like it. But we need to prove that is in the past. We need to prove in the next game.’
References
- ^ Ruben Amorim (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Manchester United (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Jim Ratcliffe (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Liverpool (www.dailymail.co.uk)