The Manchester United board is giving struggling head coach Ruben Amorim more time to figure things out at the English footballing giants, despite losing to archrivals Manchester City and slumping to fourteenth.
Amorim has been splashed all over footballing headlines for the last week, with many suggesting the Portuguese coach must be sacked – not least because he’s won just eight games in 31 at the club. And, last week’s 3–0 loss to City saw United drop to their worst start in an English top-flight campaign in 33 years.
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The board is in no rush to swing the axe, though, with Amorim safe for now, according to insider reports. Whether that’s because there’s a reported £12 million breakup clause in Amorim’s contract that would see him land a huge payday if he’s dumped hasn’t been confirmed, but either way, the 40-year-old is “expected to be in charge for Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford.”
United follow that game with matches against Brentford and Sunderland before the October break.
Whether Amorim is ‘safe’ through those three games is still relatively unclear.
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The reports suggest he has at least some modicum of safety, though: While there’s an acceptance that results must eventually improve, feelings within “the hierarchy [are that] there has been progress since last season.” United ran a paltry 15th with just 42 points in the league and recorded its first trophyless campaign since 2022.
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The board also feels like United have been “on the wrong side of fine margins” and could have won some games. Amorim’s team leads the Premier League in several statistics, including xG, total shots, and touches in the opposition’s box.
A key talking point that came out of the Manchester derby was that United actually boasted more possession than City at the Etihad and had recorded about the same shots as their rivals in the three-goal defeat. What that company line from Old Trafford isn’t focusing on quite as much is that City had six shots on target to United’s two (and converted half those chances).
Before playing Chelsea, Amorim’s side has collected four points from their first four fixtures.
