Ruben Amorim takes aim at United legends who impacted his time at the club

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Ruben Amorim’s disastrous tenure as Manchester United head coach was brought to an end before it ever really got started, after 18 months of failing to get his methods across to his players, which included a 17th-place league finish and a Europa League final defeat.

During his spell, the Portuguese coach was heavily criticised for his stubborn approach by ex-players and pundits, who quickly ran out of good will for his style of play, which simply did not suit the traditions of the Theatre of Dreams.

However, Amorim has since landed another top job on the continent, leading Italian giants AC Milan into a new era in which he hopes to restore the club to its former glories, not dissimilar to the job he was tasked with in Manchester.

Deja Vu for Amorim

Despite a tricky pre-season that did end with a win against United, Amorim has enjoyed a strong start to the Serie A campaign, gathering seven points from nine. However, he has continued to warn Milan fans against expecting a quick fix, much like he did at United.

In a recent press conference, Amorim referenced the similarities between the two jobs, which include legends of the past casting a keen eye on progression and having their say on the performance of the head coach. As reported by The Mirror, Amorim claimed he is prepared for the opinions of former Milan stars after his time at United, which he clearly has not forgotten.

“I was in a club [United] in the past with a lot of legends, and they have big opinions, and they talk a lot about things. They lived in a time that was completely different,” he said.

In fairness to Amorim, the noise around his work at Old Trafford was deafening at times, with not much support offered to the former Sporting boss, who was backed until the bitter end by the United fans.

His comments may evoke a response from certain former United players who seem to spend a lot of time highlighting what is wrong at Old Trafford rather than fighting for the club they profess to love so dearly.

Tough day at the office

Amorim, who is renowned for his charismatic charm, was clearly not at his best in his recent press conference, with a clumsy aeroplane analogy causing a stir along with his comments on United.

Given the pertinence of the day in question (September 11th), Amorim likened the progression of his side to an aeroplane crash, which would be a bizarre reference at the best of times, let alone on the anniversary of such an event.

He said: “I think we should improve in every training session. I expect that my players understand, it’s like when you have an accident with an airplane, you learn something from.”

Amorim was quick to acknowledge it was not the greatest analogy and attempted to clarify his words, but it will certainly not be a conversation that he will look back on with much pride.

“It’s not a good comparison, you understand what I mean. If something wrong happens, we take a lot of information and we put it in training sessions,” he added.

Bigger issues in Manchester

Meanwhile, Michael Carrick is on the verge of feeling a similar kind of pressure to his predecessor after a turbulent start to his first campaign in charge, which has left him with a must-not-lose derby fixture against Manchester City to deal with.

Sloppily dropped points to Hull City and Everton mean United need a result at Old Trafford on Sunday to kick-start a season that is in danger of running away from them should they suffer a damaging defeat, even at this early stage.

Carrick will no doubt be given more of the benefit of the doubt than Amorim ever was, given his relationship with the club and many of the now-pundits he used to share the pitch with. However, he will be well aware that four points from the opening four games in the Premier League would represent a poor return, particularly given the opposition faced so far.

There is enough credit in the bank from last season to grant Carrick a real shot at being the man to finally turn United around, but the sharks will no doubt begin to circle if the noisy neighbours leave his side battered and bruised at Old Trafford.

United entertain City in the blockbuster clash at 16:30 GMT tomorrow (Sunday).