Manchester United’s interim coaching candidate revealed! Sir Jim’s attitude towards Amorim has changed, and players doubt his capabilities

Manchester United head coach Rúben Amorim is desperately trying to hold onto his "dream job," but he faces a battle that seems almost impossible to win. According to the UK’s Daily Mail, with the Red Devils suffering consecutive defeats, owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s mood has shifted, and many players in the dressing room have lost faith in Amorim’s ability to turn things around.

The 40-year-old Amorim must lead the team to victory at home against newly promoted Sunderland this Saturday, or Sir Jim and the Glazer family’s tolerance may reach its breaking point. Although sacking Amorim before November could cost £12 million in compensation, sources admit that if results don’t improve and the club delays action, the price to pay could be even higher.

Amorim himself acknowledges that his time may be running out. "Joining Manchester United was my dream, and I want to continue and fight for it. But no one here is naive; we need results to move forward. Manchester United is a big club, with many sponsors and two owners, so balancing everything is really challenging."

The United coach has no plans to resign and is not worried about his livelihood. He said he pursues a sense of achievement. "What hurts me is losing games, not losing my job. If you have bills to pay, you might fear losing your job, but I don’t feel that way. I just want to keep coaching. I tell you, when the match ends, you’ll see me. I don’t care about job security; the pain of winning and losing affects me the most."

Amorim still has a chance to win over Sir Jim with a victory. "I just need to play one more game. That’s football — if we win, there’s hope, and then we focus on the next match. So, I don’t need much time. The important thing is the next match, which is tomorrow. We need to perform and win. However, sometimes we build momentum, and then lose it in the next game, which is very frustrating. That feeling pains me, and the players, especially the coaching staff here. Whether I stay or leave is not my decision. If I don’t give my all to continue my coaching career here, leaving would be difficult."

The 40-year-old Portuguese admits his players might be influenced by legends and experts criticizing his 3-4-3 formation. "I don’t want to change your opinions; the issue is my players. I can assure you they hear what you say and remember it because we haven’t won. No player in the world can remain unaffected by such expert commentary. If you win, it’s fine. When you lose, you start doubting everything — teammates, coach, yourself. That’s normal."

Amorim insists he understands Manchester United better than outsiders: "I try to watch and listen to every match. I’ve watched more games than all these people combined, who have to watch every Premier League match before giving opinions. My perspective is completely different. I watch games, I watch training, I know my players, and I know what I’m doing. I do this because if you always listen to others, survival at this club is impossible."

The Sun reports that one of Sir Jim’s concerns is that if a new coach replaces Amorim mid-season, they might end up with another Amorim. For example, Crystal Palace’s Patrick Vieira, who led the team to an FA Cup win last season and started this season by beating Liverpool, also uses a 3-4-3 formation. Although he sometimes switches to a four-defender setup with more tactical flexibility, his situation resembles Amorim’s early days at Sporting Lisbon last season.

Therefore, one plan is that if Amorim is dismissed, Manchester United might appoint an interim coach to finish the season, then hire a new manager to officially start next summer. Club legend Michael Carrick is a popular candidate for this role; he served as caretaker after Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s sacking and remained unbeaten. Recently, Carrick was appointed by UEFA as a technical observer.

However, there is currently another internal candidate for interim coaching — U18 head coach Darren Fletcher. The 41-year-old Fletcher has had a strong season so far, winning six consecutive matches without conceding a goal before last week’s 2-4 loss to Manchester City U18s. Moreover, Fletcher has shown remarkable dedication; he was injured during a Manchester United legends’ friendly against Celtic, requiring cartilage surgery, but returned to work just two days after the operation.