Man Utd in ‘relegation form’ as Ruben Amorim handed sack verdict after defeat

Ruben Amorim has come under fire for Manchester United’s poor start to the season, and Sam Allardyce is stunned that the Portuguese head coach is still at the helm at Old Trafford

Sam Allardyce is shocked that Ruben Amorim remains at the helm of Manchester United, branding their current streak “relegation form.”

Following a woeful top-flight season last term, where the Red Devils ended up 15th, more than £200million was splashed in the transfer window during the summer in a bid to turn things around. Yet this campaign has started exactly where the previous one finished, with losses becoming commonplace.

On Saturday, Amorim’s team endured their third Premier League defeat of the season, getting outplayed by Brentford in a 3-1 loss away from home. Combining such a dreadful start with a Carabao Cup elimination at the hands of Grimsby Town makes for grim reading, and former Bolton and West Ham manager Allardyce cannot fathom how Amorim has retained his position.

“The bottom line speaks for itself: nine wins in 33. If I’m at a Premier League side, it’s hard to say, but I would not be keeping my job at a club far lesser than Manchester United,” said Allardyce, speaking on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, brought to you by Boyle Sports.

“They would expect better results than that. I think that’s relegation form, you know what I mean. There may be a few draws in that, but it’s not gonna be 30 points, or anywhere near it.”

Amorim has particularly faced criticism for his unwillingness to alter how he organises his team, which features three centre-backs and two attacking wing-backs, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Stars like Bruno Fernandes have found it tough to get to grips with this formation, and Allardyce, who boasts tactical know-how when it comes to deploying a back three or five, reckons United’s top talents need to be operating in their natural roles.

“So, after the start to the season and the change around players – more players in – there’s not been too much of a change in the systems of play,” Allardyce continued. “Look, I’ve played a back three, back five, many, many times. Explained it to all the players and trained with it.

“It is not easy. It’s not easy if you’re not used to your centre halves not having anyone alongside them. It’s a different way of defending. You’ve got one spare in the middle, so they pick up who’s there.

“I sometimes feel that you’re normally facing one up front, and you’ve got a free player, and there are too many spare. They can talk about any system they want, but it’s the individuals who are not playing at their best.

“If some players are playing out of position and he’s one of the top players, he [Amorim] has to put his top player in the position he wants to play in more. They’ve spent enough money to be more creative, but they aren’t scoring.”

Despite widespread doubts about Amorim’s tactical approach, the manager insists he’ll never budge on his team setup. The Portuguese boss even quipped that not even the Pope could persuade him to switch his methods.

“No, no, no,” he declared earlier this month when questioned if he would alter his team’s tactics. “No one. Not even the Pope will change… This is my job. This is my responsibility. This is my life. So, I will not change that.

“If I’m a player and I have a coach that, with a lot of pressure and [people] all around the world, are saying ‘you need to change the system’, says ‘I’m going to change’, they will look at me in a different way.

“Everything is important when you think about the impact that a decision is going to have on the team. I’m doing things my way. I hope to have the time to change but it will be an evolution.”