'Ruben Amorim REGRETS accepting Man Utd job'

Cameron Smith

26 Jan 2025 15:00 GMT
3 min read

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson believes that Ruben Amorim may already regret his decision to join Manchester United.

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The 39-year-old was appointed as Erik ten Hag’s successor back in November and he has endured a tough start to life at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have lost seven of their 16 games since Amorim’s arrival and they are currently 13th in the Premier League table - 15 points behind Manchester City in fourth place.

The Portuguese tactician enjoyed a sublime start in charge of Sporting CP and Merson has suggested that he will already be regretting his decision to leave the Lisbon giants in late 2024.

What has been said?

“This man's [Amorim] 39 years of age. I mean, there are players just finishing their footballing careers at 38,” Merson told Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.

“He's young and in management, really young. He's done well in Portugal. He's coming to one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“By far not the best team in the world, but one of the biggest clubs in the world. And he's finding it hard. The pressure's on him.

“Someone's obviously said to him, you need to backtrack on that and start blaming yourself a little bit here because the players won't have that, they won't have that, they won't be sitting there saying that, but it's going to be hard for him.

“I don't see where this turns around. With the Tottenham one, I can see the players when they get back, I think they'll cause team problems on their day, especially the way they play."

Merson added: “I think the manager will be sitting there deep down and thinking, 'Should I have taken this job?'

“He didn't want to take it until the end of the season, and I think he'll be sitting there now thinking. ‘I'm not sure I can do this job.’

“I don't think it's just him. I think any manager, I think you're looking at Financial Fair Play rules and how far they're behind now, and look where they are in their league, they're 13th in the league. Bournemouth have got better players. I mean, when has that ever happened?"