By Mitch Phillips
LONDON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Ruben Amorim’s turbulent 14-month tenure as Manchester United manager ended abruptly on Monday when he was sacked a day after voicing a passionate defence of his role and vowed not to quit in the wake of a disappointing 1-1 draw with Leeds United.
“With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club’s leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change. This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish,” the club said in a statement.
The Portuguese coach, 40, took over from Erik ten Hag in November 2024, ending his first season with the club 15th in the Premier League – their worst placing since they were relegated in 1974 – and losing to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
This season they are sixth after 20 games – 17 behind leaders Arsenal – having won three of their last 11 matches and the Leeds result triggered a fiery outburst in a press conference from the usually mild-mannered and refreshingly honest coach.
He bristled at questions about his job security, delivering a defiant message that he came to United as a manager with full authority and not merely a coach taking orders.
REGULAR CRITIC
“If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club,” he said, in reference to the former full back-turned pundit who has been a regular critic of Amorim’s tactical inflexibility as he remained wedded to his three/five at the back formation.
“I just want to say I came here to be the manager, not to be the coach. Every department – the scouting department, the sporting director – need to do their job.
“I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. I was really clear on that. That is going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal.
“I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.”
Amorim joined United after impressing at Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon but struggled to make any immediate impact.
In his 63 games, he oversaw 24 wins, 18 draws and 21 defeats, with a win percentage of 38.1. In the league that dropped to 32%, the worst of any of the club’s managers in the Premier League era and which has left them completely out of the conversation when it comes to challenging for the title.
While appreciated by the media for his honest and thoughtful answers, some players and observers were less impressed by his public criticism of his players, which included describing his team as “maybe the worst in the club’s history” a year ago.
The club’s summer signings of Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha gave him more frontline firepower, but the team still looked thin in midfield and horribly disjointed and vulnerable at the back.
Recent fixtures brought little seasonal joy to the fans as a 1-0 win over Newcastle United was sandwiched by a defeat at Aston Villa, a home draw with bottom club Wolves and Sunday’s draw at Leeds.
Next up is a trip to Burnley on Wednesday, when former midfielder Darren Fletcher, who prefers a traditional 4-4-2 system in the under-18 squad he oversees, will take charge.
The club’s hierarchy will now set about trying to find a big-name operator who can bring back the glory days of the Alex Ferguson era.
Since Ferguson retired in 2013, United have turned to David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag with very limited success and it is now 13 years since they won the last of their 20 league titles.
Amorim’s sacking comes four days after Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca also departed after an apparent fallout with his club’s leadership.
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips; editing by Toby Chopra and Pritha Sarkar)
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