Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim had a sit-down with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the club’s big bosses, on Friday. When asked about it later, Amorim flashed a grin. “Oh, that? He was just offering me a new contract,” the Portuguese coach quipped, a chuckle escaping him.
He quickly got serious, though. “No, no, it was just a normal chat,” Amorim clarified. “He wanted to show his support, talk about this being a long-term project. Sir Jim mentioned a few times that this was my first season here. I told him it certainly doesn’t feel like my first go-around,” he added, hinting at his experience. “It was a standard meeting. I also spoke with Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox. We looked at all the team data. We’ve had several talks like this. But right now, everyone’s watching closely, so it gets noticed.”
Shifting gears, Amorim looked ahead to Saturday’s home clash against Chelsea at 5:30 PM. Points are desperately needed in the Premier League. “Football is just how it is,” he sighed, “and this club? It might just have the most pressure in the entire world. We always want to win. People can say whatever they like, but I believe we’ve improved. I was very critical of our style of play last year. Now, I see us doing well up to the opposition box, both in defense and attack. We just need to be sharper and more aggressive inside that final third. Overall, we’re better off than last season. Losing early, especially after how things went before, that’s a real headache here, and we’ve already dropped points against Arsenal and Manchester City.”
On the injury front, Amorim confirmed some news. Defender Diogo Dalot is still out, working with the Red Devils’ medical staff. But there’s good news too: both Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha are back in the squad.