‘I heard what he said’ – Sir Jim Ratcliffe has ‘got himself in trouble’ with latest Ruben Amorim claim
Sir Jim Ratcliffe may have got himself into more trouble after a recent claim about the future of Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.
Amorim is under huge sack pressure at Man United, after a difficult start to the campaign for the Portuguese manager.
The Red Devils recorded their worst-ever Premier League finish of 15th last term, and things haven’t improved at the beginning of this season.
Earlier this month, Ratcliffe claimed that Amorim would be given three years to prove himself at Old Trafford, despite the rumours around a much quicker dismissal.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe had ‘no conviction’ in his Ruben Amorim claim
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes that Ratcliffe didn’t really mean what he said about Amorim’s future, and that it was far from a ringing endorsement.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Wyness insisted that the billionaire was making a “short-term press comment” to silence the media speculation, and that his words had “no conviction” to them.
Oliver Glasner has been touted as a potential replacement for Amorim, but the Austrian is in contract talks with his current club, Crystal Palace.
Wyness added that Man United cannot afford another season around the bottom half of the table, so things will have to change if the situation doesn’t improve.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “I heard what Ratcliffe said, but it wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. It was like the vote from the boardroom, a famous vote of confidence from the boardroom.
“It didn’t exactly fill me with the belief that he really meant that. I think he was trying to sort of silence a lot of the speculation right now. But if United’s results go on like this, they’ll have no choice. They’re going to have to make a change at some stage, and that will be at Jim Ratcliffe’s door.
“I think the three years is just a short-term press comment. I didn’t believe that he really meant it with conviction. I think he’d like to, but I think he also knows that the situation is such that they can’t afford another season around the bottom half of the table.
“Things will have to change, I think. It’ll come to it. He was just trying to calm the waters, but really, he may have got himself into more trouble.”
Man United’s real reason for giving Ruben Amorim time
If they did decide to sack him, Man United would be forced to pay Amorim £12million in compensation, which could be seen as an unnecessary outlay.
Sources say United are reluctant to spend big on sacking Amorim due to profit and sustainability concerns.
This could mean that the former Sporting Lisbon boss may be given longer than he would’ve been to try and turn things around at Old Trafford.
However, if results don’t improve, the hierarchy at United will have no choice but to make a change in the dugout.
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