Gary Neville believes Ruben Amorim’s recent comments to the media are a sign that the Manchester United manager is not happy with the pecking order at Old Trafford.
However, Jamie Carragher has dismissed Amorim’s criticism, insisting the Portuguese is “hardly capable of being a Premier League manager at the moment”.
Amorim told reporters after the 1-1 draw with Leeds that he had joined Manchester United as a manager rather than a head coach, apparently indicating his intention to leave the club when his contract expires.
“What happened last week means that Amorim is starting to unravel a little bit,” Neville said on the podcast.
“It looks to me like he’s not happy with something in the hierarchy.”
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Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim insisted after the away game against Leeds that he came to the club to be a manager, not a head coach.
Amorim’s comments followed suggestions on Christmas Eve that he was not getting the support he had hoped for in the transfer market to play in his preferred tactical system.
However, the comment drew a scathing rebuke from Carragher, with Sky Sports pundits claiming Amorim should not be the manager of Manchester United.
Mr Carragher responded: “I don’t think he is in any position to question the people who appointed him.” “Because he’s not good enough. He’s not good enough to be a Manchester United manager. He’s hardly good enough to be a Premier League manager at the moment.”
Asked about the cause of Amorim’s dissatisfaction, Carragher suggested: “I can only think of two things. Either it’s about the January transfer window, he’s not supported or the higher ups have doubts about him moving up and down the system.”
“He started to look like he was getting by with a back four, but against Wolves he went back to a back five and that was probably the worst performance we’ve seen from the team against Wolves this season.”
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Jamie Carragher slams Ruben Amorim after game against Leeds, saying he’s not good enough as Man United manager
“There’s a fire.”
Neville continued: “Obviously something is bothering him. He clearly doesn’t feel supported. He’s clearly letting go. When he said he came to the club as a manager, I thought he was appointed as head coach and specifically appointed to coach the team.”
“Manager is a title that you don’t see anymore. He has indicated that he wants to not only manage performances on the training ground, but also other parts of the club.”
“I played under managers and they basically have a bigger say in other parts of the club, including reinforcements, the academy, the style of play, pre-season friendlies and so on.
“I think he is suggesting that he needs to be given the ability to manage more departments of the club.
“Actually against Leeds I thought United were very strong defensively. I thought they were very solid in the game and handled the atmosphere well. I thought they totally deserved a point in this game. So I was surprised to hear Ruben Amorim’s comments after the game because I thought we had gotten a point at home.”
“We just had a disastrous result against Wolves at home and we have a game against Burnley in three days. We don’t really need a fire at the moment but there is a fire.
“He’s always been honest, he’s always been honest in press conferences. He’s always said what he believes, what he thinks, what he needs to do, and he should continue to be that way, but now it looks like he’s starting to look up, which normally brings pressure.”
Manchester United’s next 5 games
January 7: Burnley (A) – Premier League, kick-off 8.15pm, live on Sky Sports January 11: Brighton (H) – FA Cup third round, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports January 17: Man City (H) – Premier League, kick-off 12:30pm, live on Sky Sports January 25: Arsenal (A) – Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm, live on Sky Sports February 1: Fulham (H) – Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports
