Having been sacked at the turn of the new year, Rúben Amorim’s former assistant coach at Manchester United gave his thoughts on why the club decided to sack the Portuguese head coach.
Manchester United’s 1–1 draw with Leeds at Elland Road on January 5th proved to be the final match of Rúben Amorim’s spell in charge of the club.
Speaking in a tense post-match press conference, Amorim expressed his frustration at what he felt was a lack of authority within the role, insisting that he wanted to “be the manager of Manchester United, not the coach of Manchester United,” as well as pointing direct criticism at the likes of Jason Wilcox and Christopher Vivell.
After Darren Fletcher oversaw two games at United, the club opted to hand Michael Carrick the interim head coach role until the end of the season.
Amorim’s poor run of form with United has been compounded by United’s complete U-turn in form, with a seven-game unbeaten run under Carrick, including wins over Manchester City and Arsenal.
Amorim assistant breaks the silence on sacking
While Amorim’s relationship with the club went up in flames over the weekend, the United faithful backed him until the very end, showing great faith in the Portuguese head coach despite the club’s poor performances throughout his tenure.
Therefore, it’s quite surprising that the former boss has been silent about his sacking, opting not to release any kind of parting statement, as previous Man Utd managers have done.
However, Amorim’s assistant coach, Adelio Candido, has spoken about his time at Manchester United, explaining why he thought it didn’t work out.
Speaking to A Bola, he said, “Experience is always experience. Whether the end result is good or bad, we always end up learning. I really liked Manchester as a city, the way the fans live and breathe football, they were looking at the project rather than short-term results.
“What I liked less, without a doubt, was the feeling that our ideas weren’t totally implemented.”
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The staggering costs behind Amorim’s sacking
After taking over in November, Amorim oversaw United’s lowest-ever Premier League finish, ending the campaign in 15th place, and also lost to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.
Despite INEOS showing great faith in the Portuguese coach, United’s 31.9% win rate, as well as his stubbornness to stick with a 3-4-2-1 formation that clearly wasn’t suited for the players he had at his disposal, meant that he couldn’t have too many complaints over his sacking after his explosive outburst following the Leeds draw.
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In a recent filing to the New York Stock Exchange, it was revealed that removing Amorim and his coaches could cost up to £15.9 million, with the true amount of compensation depending on whether he lands another job within a certain timeframe.
United bought out his contract at Sporting Lisbon for around £8.3 million, paying another £900,000 so he could start working at Old Trafford early. Having also signed a reported £6.5million-a-year contract, the pay-off for the remainder of his contract stands at around £10 million.
This, as well as the £14.5 million spent following Dan Ashworth’s departure and Erik ten Hag’s sacking, means that almost £30 million has been spent as compensation in the last 15 months, just proving how critical it is that the club get it right this summer in their search for Old Trafford’s next permanent head coach.
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