MANCHESTER UNITED chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe flew into Manchester to hold talks with Ruben Amorim following the club’s torrid start to the season, according to reports.
Amorim is under growing pressure in the United hotseat with his side having won just one of their first five games of the season.
According to The Athletic, Ineos bigwig Ratcliffe took a helicopter into the Carrington training ground to hold a series of meetings, including one with Amorim.
It’s claimed the meeting had long been on the schedule for Ratcliffe, but the team’s current worrying form was on the agenda.
In just five games this season, United have already suffered an embarrassing defeat to League Two side Grimsby, been battered by their local rivals and needed a 97th-minute penalty to squeeze past relegation-favourites Burnley at home.
Amorim’s time at United is now officially the worst of any manager to take charge of 25 or more games in the past 80 YEARS in terms of win percentage.
Amorim has managed to come out on top in just 36.2 per cent of his games in charge of the club.
To put that into perspective, Erik ten Hag – the man Amorim replaced in the Old Trafford hotseat – boasts a 54.7 per cent win percentage from his time at United.
David Moyes, who was sacked in his first season in charge, managed a win percentage of 52.9 per cent.
But forget isolating Amorim’s shocking form to Man Utd comparisons; the most worrying thing for United fans is the way he stacks up against his current opponents.
Since arriving in Manchester last November, Amorim’s United have the worst record of any Premier League club still in the division.
Of the 17 ever-present Premier League clubs excluding those promoted and relegated, his struggling Red Devils are BOTTOM of the table.
They have picked up a pitiful 31 points from 31 games, including just eight wins.
Things don’t seem to be turning around this term either, with United now just picking up four points from their opening four Premier League games – marking their worst start to a league campaign since 1992-93.
But Amorim is steadfast in his approach, insisting he will have to be sacked before he changes his 3-4-3 formation.
Speaking after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Man City, Amorim said: “It is not a record we should have at Manchester United. I accept that but I am not going to change.
“When I want to change my philosophy I will change but, if not, you have to change the man.
“We will talk about that every game we lose. I have played my way and I am going to play my way until I want to change.”
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has so far stuck by his man, claiming in March that he “really, really likes him”.
He told The Times: “Yeah, I do, honestly. I really, really like Ruben. He’s a very thoughtful guy. Every time I go to the training ground, I speak to Ruben.
“I sit down and have a cup of coffee with him and tell him where it’s going wrong, and he tells me to f*** off. I like him.”
Read the full article here