Ruben Amorim’s honesty in his first six months at Manchester United have been criticised within the media, with Jamie Carragher being one of those to slam the head coach.
Manchester United have had a terrible season in the Premier League, with the club sitting 16th in the table heading into the final game of the campaign.
There is a chance that Europa League glory ends the season on a high note but even with a win in Bilbao against Tottenham Hotspur, there are still many problems to navigate at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim is more than aware of that and the Portuguese boss has been bluntly honest with the dire situation at the club since he arrived in November last year.
His first high-profile comment was that “a storm would come” after winning against Everton and he then labelled his United side as the “worst” in the club’s history – the 40-year-old did correct that statement afterwards, including himself in the criticism, but it is clear that he has not minced his words since joining the club.
This approach has earned Amorim critics, especially as the season has gone on and United have not managed to turn a corner and improve their form.
Mazraoui shuts down Carragher’s “ridiculous” Amorim claim
Jamie Carragher was one of the first pundits to slam Amorim’s honesty, with the former Liverpool player claiming that it would hurt the United players’ confidence.
“I must say it was one of the most bizarre and ridiculous things I’ve ever heard a manager say,” said Carragher after Amorim’s ‘worst team’ comments earlier this season. “[As players] it doesn’t help you confidence-wise going forwards.
“Why you would make a comment like that… that’s the type of comment a pundit would make, someone in my position, and you’d have to defend that. I don’t know what he gains from that, what the benefit is.”
While that is the view of Carragher, Noussair Mazraoui has responded to such claims and shut them down, explaining how he has the same view as Amorim and likes the honesty from the head coach.
“No, for me personally not, because that’s how I am as well,” he replied this week when asked about the ‘brutal honesty’ from Amorim. “I’m not hiding behind anything, and that’s the manager as well.
“He takes responsibility. He knows he’s the head of the club eventually because he’s the manager. That’s something I like a lot about him.
“He’s really honest, really straightforward. He’s not hiding from anything.”
People will love Amorim’s honesty if United are winning
Perhaps there are some players in the United dressing room who have not liked the straight-talking from Amorim, but those are the kind of characters you cannot get away with having at United – it’s why they’re in the position they are.
Amorim also never singles out individuals. He refused to criticise Rasmus Højlund this week despite the striker’s incredibly poor form. He just doesn’t seem like he wants to lie about the situation the club is in.
It is also easy to forget how much United fans were begging for honesty when Erik ten Hag was in charge and was regularly using the cup victories and injuries as answers to any sort of questions about his team.
There would be absolutely no problem with Amorim’s honesty if United were winning football games, and that needs to be his focus next season. People will love everything about him if he’s providing results as that’s the name of the game.
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