Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has played down the significance of a recent meeting with co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, even joking he had been offered a new contract at Old Trafford.
With Amorim now boasting the worst win percentage of any United manager since World War II, he is under significant pressure to turn things around. He recently vowed to do so with his current tactical setup, warning those in charge he would have to be sacked if they want to see something different.
Adding to the speculation was a meeting with Ratcliffe on Thursday. The United co-owner’s appearance is thought to have been planned well in advance, rather than as a knee-jerk reaction to the recent defeat to Manchester City, but the team’s poor performances were a topic of conversation between the two.
Asked for specific details about the meeting, an upbeat Amorim joked: “New contract, he was offering me a new contract.”
He continued: “No, it’s normal things, just to show the support, explaining that it’s a long project. He said many times, ‘This is my third season.’ For me, it’s not. But normal things.
“I spoke with him, with Omar [Berrrada, CEO], with Jason [Wilcox, director of football], just trying to see all the data around the team. So, a normal meeting, and we had several, but in this moment, it’s normal that people pay attention to that.”
Amorim went on to acknowledge the unique nature of life as manager at United, insisting the level of pressure that comes with the job is not seen anywhere else in world football.
“This is football and this is the club with more pressure, maybe, than any in the world, but we want to win,” he stressed.
“Last year I was very critical of the way we played. I think we are playing well until the boxes, defending and attacking. We need to be more aggressive in the boxes. We need to be more clinical. The rest I think we are improving compared to last year. We are in a better place.
“But we need to win. We lost against Arsenal and Man City. Here, losing, especially in the beginning after last season, is a problem.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘More Pressure’—Ruben Amorim Reveals Nature of Meeting With Man Utd Officials.
