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Certain sections of the Manchester United squad are “beginning to lose” faith in Ruben Amorim with a belief that wins are achieved through individual moments of quality or luck, rather than a result of the Portuguese coach’s system, according to an explosive report.
The Red Devils are currently languished in a dismal 15th place in the Premier League with a negative goal difference, having suffered twelve losses after Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The last time United lost this many games at this point of a campaign they were relegated – 1973/74.
Amorim’s side have fared better in the cups with a fifth round tie at Old Trafford against Fulham in the FA Cup and a last-sixteen round in the Europa League on the horizon.
However, serious injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Amad – two of the team’s standout performers over the last couple of months – have further weakened United’s chances in either tournament, with both players only likely to return next season.
United have won five games in 2025, drawing once and losing three times. While this is not the type of negative form which should call into question a manager’s position, most of these victories have been by the scrape of the team’s teeth, requiring moments of brilliance (mainly from Amad) or slices of luck.
And it’s this inability to win convincingly which, according to Chris Wheeler (Daily Mail), is leading a cohort within the Old Trafford dressing room to question Amorim’s approach.
The reporter states, “some players are beginning to lose faith in Amorim’s system as results and performances continue to suffer. The 40-year-old may still have their support, but confidence in his methods is inevitably starting to ebb.”
“It is understood the disaffected group believe that even when United win, it is largely down to individual moments of quality or good fortune rather than a tactical triumph. The feeling is, “We got away with one but we might not be so lucky next time”,’ one dressing-room source tells Mail Sport.”
Previously, as relayed by The Peoples Person, certain United players wanted their manager to consider “tweaking the system” – Amorim has utilised a 3-4-3 formation throughout his entire coaching career – to help with the “teething problems” they were collectively experiencing.
The 40-year-old coach is unflinching, however. He is adamant he will not ‘adapt’ his system; and it’s absolutely the correct approach – why would a manager move away from the approach and philosophy which secured them the job in the first place?
Compromise is the death of progress for a coach at the elite level. Pep Guardiola would never have ceded on his system or principles when arriving at Manchester City; nor would Jurgen Klopp have at Anfield. The key difference is the structure each of United’s rivals had in place to help their new managers assimilate without being forced to compromise.
Old Trafford has claimed the souls of numerous managers in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson malaise. The playing squad’s inability, or refusal, to buy into their ideas were one principal reasons for this failure, among many others; and these coaches were forced to adapt their system or set-up accordingly, as Erik ten Hag lost himself trying to do.
Amorim will not fall foul of the same mistake, even if members of his team increasingly want him to adapt on the tactics board to account for their inadequacies on the pitch.
Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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