Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford in November 2024 looking to turn an ailing club’s fortunes around, but a former Red Devils coach believes he’s “almost” stepped into the impossible job.
Though there have been signs of progress, with a statement win against Manchester City and competitive display at Anfield versus Liverpool, Manchester United‘s results under the Portuguese boss have been largely poor.
Rene Meulensteen worked at Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson’s first team coach between 2007 and 2013, tasting plenty of success during his time at the club. But Manchester United are a different team entirely to when the Dutchman last worked there, with Meulensteen highlighting just how confident Amorim would have to have been to step into the hot seat.
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim will need time to turn things around
“You step into Manchester United, who haven’t got it going for the last 12 years, and think, ‘Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho, Solskjaer, Ten Hag, why would I be different?’,” Meulensteen exclusively tells FourFourTwo.
“He must be very convinced about himself, but we all know how difficult it is at United.”
Has managing the Red Devils become the impossible job?
“Almost, yeah,” Meulensteen concedes. “He came in at a difficult moment, the season was up and running, game after game, plus it wasn’t his squad or system. He’s had to try to make two things work, whereas most managers would say, ‘Let’s see what I’ve got in the squad and fit the best possible system around it’, rather than the other way around. That could turn out to be the impossible job.
“It usually takes a manager around 18 months. When Jurgen Klopp went in at Liverpool, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, it was about 18 months. Klopp was eighth in the first year.
“They come in, it’s not their squad but they’ve got an idea – ‘This is how I want to play’. That takes six months to really get things across, to get your training sessions in place. After that, you’ve got your first transfer window. Do you need to do something now, or can you wait until the end of the season?
“Then you’ve got the summer transfer window, that’s the time to get rid of players you don’t want, bring in others, with another six months to bed that in. You’re 18 months in, but then it’s totally your team and you steadily start to see performances and consistency – that’s exactly what happened with Guardiola at City, and Klopp at Liverpool.
“Amorim’s starting point is completely different to Arne Slot’s, though. So how long will it take? F**king hell, god knows. They have to get to a point where if you see Manchester United stepping on to the pitch, they’re playing well, they don’t give goals away and they score for fun. They’ve been a long way off that. When you get that, though, things can go reasonably quickly.”
