Ruben Amorim says he feels the support from Sir Jim Ratcliffe “every day” after Manchester United’s co-owner pledged to give him three years in charge.
United’s head coach also said chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox tell him of their backing “all the time”. But Amorim, who is approaching 12 months in charge of the club, acknowledges that football is an unpredictable industry and results will influence the mood among United’s hierarchy.
Ratcliffe told The Times’ The Business podcast: “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years. That’s where I would be.”
Amorim responded at his news conference on Friday, saying: “He tells me all the time, sometimes with a message after games. But you know, I know, and Jim knows that football is not like that. The most important thing is the next game, you cannot control, even with owners, you cannot control the next day in football.
“So I know that, but it’s really good to hear that. Also, because of the noise, but Omar and Jason tell me that all the time.”
Amorim added of the backing from above: “First of all, I can feel it, it’s not just that thing that people talk about. But I feel it every day, and again, sometimes the pressure that I put on the team or on myself is so much bigger than them.
“I know that it’s going to take a while, but I don’t want to think like that, I said that last year. But of course again, it’s really good to hear that. I think it helps our fans to understand that the leadership understand that is going to take a while.
“But at the same moment, I don’t like that, because it will give a feeling that we have time to work things out. So I don’t want that feeling here in our club.
“The most important thing is the next game, it’s good to feel the support, but we need to prove in football, and especially in big clubs, that every weekend we are ready to win games.”
United travel to Liverpool on Sunday knowing victory would put them two points behind Arne Slot’s champions in the Premier League table. But United have not won at Anfield since January 2016.
Under Amorim, United drew 2-2 at Liverpool in January, although Harry Maguire missed a big chance to earn victory in added time.
“I remember we played well, it was a draw, I was really upset at the end of the game, because we proved on that day that we can compete against any opponent,” Amorim said. “I know that it’s special for our club, I know that they are fighting all the time for the number of titles. I know what it means to the fans. It’s one game that we need to prove again that we are playing better. I think we are playing better, we need to do better in both boxes.”
