Ruben Amorim mentioned Gary Neville’s name in a heated tirade after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.
Gary Neville has weighed in on Ruben Amorim’s “bizarre” comments in his post-match press conference after the Manchester United manager appeared to hint that he and the club would go their own way once his contract expires.
After Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United, the United manager questioned his future at Old Trafford. Mr Amorim hinted at problems behind the scenes at a press conference on Friday before escalating matters at Elland Road.
“I’ll leave it to you guys, but I realize that you’re receiving selective information about everything,” he said. “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the manager of Manchester United, that’s clear. I know my name is not Tuchel, Conte or Mourinho, but I am the manager of Manchester United.
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“And this situation is going to continue for 18 months or until the board decides to make a change. That’s what I was saying. I want this to be over. I’m not going to quit. I’m going to do my job until someone else comes here to take my place.”
Amorim also reiterated that all players will be transferred when their contracts expire in 18 months. He also suggested he had been promised further powers to reorganize the club, while also name-checking Neville in the process.
“All I’m saying is I’m not just going to be a coach, I’m going to be the manager of this team,” he said. “And I was really clear about that. And it’s going to end in 18 months and then we’re all going to move on. That was the deal.”
“That’s my job, not to be a coach. If people can’t stand the criticism of Gary Neville and everything, then I need to change clubs. No, guys, all I’ve said is that I didn’t come here to be a coach, I came here to be a Manchester United manager. And each department, the scouting department, the sporting director, needs to do their job. I’m going to do my job for 18 months and move on.”
Following Mr Amorim’s rant, Mr Neville was asked for his thoughts on the matter on the Gary Neville Podcast from the Etihad Stadium. “There are some strange comments around, ‘I’m a manager, not a head coach.’ Like I said earlier about Maresca, when you start playing games like this in press conferences, it’s obvious that something is bothering him. He doesn’t feel supported and he’s letting go,” he said.
“When I said I came to the club as a manager, I thought I was appointed as the head coach of a football club and was appointed to coach the team. I don’t see the title of manager anymore. I don’t know what Josep Guardiola is at Manchester City.”
“The manager has suggested that he wants to control more than just performances on the training ground. He wants to ignore other parts of the club. They have a bigger say in other parts of the club, such as recruitment, the academy, the style of play and how pre-season friendlies are run.”
“Perhaps he is suggesting that he needs to be given the ability to manage more departments of the club. I haven’t seen the press conference at all, it was just sent to us by the staff producer, but (he) said something about other people doing work in his department.”
“Again, that suggests he’s not happy with something. If you look at the quotes that come out, something happened last week that means Ruben Amorim is now starting to unravel in the same way as Maresca.”
“It’s not exactly like that, but it’s similar in that the meaning is not clear, but everyone has to read between the lines. It looks to me like he’s unhappy about something in the hierarchy.
“Apparently he mentioned my name in it as well. That’s what managers often do in difficult times: ask the pundits for their opinion. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, I’ve been quite supportive of Manchester United’s performances against Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Newcastle.”
“I thought they were very good. If that’s what he’s saying, I couldn’t have cheered for him against Wolves last night. It wasn’t right last night and I have to say that. It wasn’t right against 10-man Everton.”
“If I see something that’s not right, I’m going to call it out, because that’s my job. That being said, the bigger issue isn’t what he said about me. In fact, it doesn’t matter at all. It’s more that what he’s saying is going on behind the scenes.”
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