Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes manager Ruben Amorim needs three years to turn things around at Old Trafford after their poor start to the season.
The Red Devils have already lost three Premier League games and been eliminated from the League Cup.
The victory over Sunderland last weekend has not eased fears that the club could be set for another uninspiring season.
However, Ratcliffe’s comments appear to give Amorim all the leeway he needs to get this United team on the path to success.
Journalist Chris Wheeler is not taking Ratcliffe’s ‘ambitious’ statement at face value.
Wheeler recalled how the United hierarchy gave Erik ten Hag a new deal after the FA Cup triumph, backed him in the transfer window and still sacked him.
“Talk is fairly cheap,” the journalist said (via Sky Sports).
Amorim is on shaky ground at United
The fact that Amorim wasn’t sacked last summer was a miracle.
Any other Man Utd manager would have been shown the door after overseeing the club’s lowest league finish in decades.
Fifteenth place was a crushing blow. It was a disgrace for a club of United’s stature.
Amorim has had more than enough time to impose his philosophy, shape the squad and deliver progress on the pitch.
The players he reportedly didn’t want are gone, and he has brought in his own targets.
If he cannot get United firing before the end of this season, then sentiment and patience should give way to standards.
United cannot afford to keep lowering the bar to protect a manager who hasn’t delivered.
While Ratcliffe’s decision to back the manager is commendable in this era of hiring and firing, the Portuguese tactician has enjoyed ample time.
Three years is too much of a stretch.
