Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim harshly criticized the club’s leadership on a number of occasions on Sunday, hinting at problems with sporting director Jason Wilcox, with the CEO having to take sides.
Omar Berrada is expected to take sides in an apparent power struggle between Manchester United’s director of football Jason Wilcox and Ruben Amorim.
Amorim insisted in a separate press conference after his team’s 1-1 draw with Leeds that he had been appointed as manager, not head coach. His dissatisfaction seems to be focused on the club’s future transfer activities.
The Portuguese’s problems with Wilcox have cast doubt over his future, but a battle with one of the club’s most influential figures is likely to end badly for the former Sporting Lisbon manager, especially if the CEO is forced to have a say.
talkSPORT reports that one of Amorim’s frustrations stems from Wilcox urging him to show tactical realism. Previously, he defiantly stuck to a 3-4-3 formation, albeit without success. In recent weeks he has been reduced to a back four, but returned to type at the weekend.
Wilcox appears to be backed by Mr Berrada, who is part of the structure set up by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and is trusted to run the club on Mr Wilcox’s behalf.
read more: Ruben Amorim issues reality check, hints at tough prospect of transfer to Manchester Unitedread more: Jamie Carragher tells Manchester United manager ‘you’re almost incompetent’, leaving Ruben Amorim torn
Amorim was hoping to further strengthen his squad, but it feels like a broken promise in this transfer window as United are currently planning a quiet January. United spent more than £200m on their frontline in the summer, but there are still holes in the squad.
One of Amorim’s frustrations was with the decision to sign Benjamin Sesco, which cost the club £70m but has so far struggled to make an impact. United’s head coach would have preferred to sign Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa given his track record in the Premier League.
Amorim has also revealed that he intends to move on when his contract expires at the end of next season. “In any department, scouting department, athletic director, (they) need to do their job. I’m going to do my job for 18 months and then take the next step,” he said.
“I just want to say, I’m not just a coach, I’m going to be the manager of this team. I knew that for sure. It would be 18 months and then everyone would move on. That was the deal. That’s my job. It’s not about being the coach.”
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