There were not a few Manchester United supporters who grumbled after Ruben Amorim got the best possible first three minutes of his Premier League debut against bottom side Ipswich – and lost the advantage. Kieran McKenna and Ipswich fought hard and deserved the point at home, but the thought that naturally came to mind with United supporters was: Ruud van Nistelrooy would hardly have given up a point at Portman Road.
When it became known that Ruud van Nistelrooy would not be allowed to continue as interim coach of Manchester United for longer than four games, many people were stunned. Why push for a signing of Amorim in November when the Portuguese himself wanted to end the season with Sporting?
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5-2 win against Leicester in the League Cup, 1-1 against Chelsea in the Premier League, 2-0 win against PAOK in the Europa League, 3-0 win against Leicester in the PL. This was the starting point Man United had going into the international break and the PL match against Ipswich.
Amorim gives disappointed United supporters an explanation that doesn’t exactly remove the question of whether Van Nistelrooy should have been allowed to continue for the rest of the season.
“I know it’s frustrating for the fans, but we change so many things in a period with a lot of games. We will suffer for a long time. We will try to win games, but it will take time. We have to risk a little now, and next year we will be better. If we don’t, we’ll have the same problems next year,” Amorim told BBC Sport.
The critics who wanted to keep Van Nistelrooy for the rest of the season need only refer to Casemiro. The Brazilian’s 100th game in a United shirt was not something anyone will remember. The Real Madrid legend seemed to have the “mojo” back under Ruud van Nistelrooy, but didn’t put nearly as much effort into Amorim on Sunday.
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