Bruno Fernandes has insisted Ruben Amorim should remain as Manchester United head coach despite Wednesday’s Europa League final defeat by Tottenham, while the captain admitted he would leave if the club wants to “cash in” on him.
United lost the final at San Mamés Stadium to Brennan Johnson’s 42nd-minute winner. Amorim stated afterwards he would leave the “next day” if the board and fans lose faith in him.
Fernandes was asked what he would say to Sir Jim Ratcliffe if the minority owner was minded to accept the offer. He said: “It’s not my decision but I do think the manager is the right one and I don’t think that it will be a better person to come into the job and do the job.
“I know it’s difficult to understand that, it’s difficult to see that. But I still do think that he’s the right man to lead the club. I do think that the club is in a situation where it’s easier to get a different [head coach] in because the results haven’t been there. But as my other teammates said, and I repeat myself, I do think he’s the right man.”
Fernandes was asked why he is so sure of Amorim. “He has done a lot of good things,” he said. “We know that the manager is looked at by the results. Obviously we see more than that as players. We know for everyone it will be about him bringing back the positivity in the club. To try to bring the club back to fight for trophies, fight for the big trophies. And we all agree that he’s the right man.”
Fernandes has reportedly attracted the interest of Real Madrid. The playmaker was asked how determined he is to remain as part of a squad rebuild. He said: “I have always been honest. I’ve always said I will be here until the club says to me that it’s time to go. I’m eager to do more, to be able to bring the club to the great days. In the day that the club thinks that I’m too much or it’s time to part ways, football is like this, you never know it. But I’ve always said it and I keep my word in the same way.
“If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cashing in or whatever, it’s what it is and football sometimes is like this. The players have said that this season has been unacceptable.”
Of the final he said: “It’s very sad. We wanted to win more than anything in this final. It’s very sad because we’ve done some very good things in this competition until today. But [the final] was the day that mattered, the most important day of the competition. It was the day we could have been in the history of the Europa League, but it’s not like that. And football is cruel, and it’s been our turn to lose.”
