Ruben Amorim reportedly fears the job at Manchester United is more difficult than he claimed.
Any momentum in the sails of his arrival was blighted by back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest – only the second time he has suffered back-to-back league defeats as a manager.
Amorim had not lost a league match all year before arriving at Manchester United, and you have to go back to February 2023 for his previous home loss in any domestic competition.
But with an ailing squad, Sir Jim Ratcliffe's unpopular decisions and the departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth, the Portuguese believes the job is 'more complicated' than the one on offer, according to ESPN.
United are 13th in the table with 19 points after 15 games, eight worse than at the same stage last season, which turned out to be their worst Premier League season.
Amorim have won two, drawn one and lost two of their five games in charge, but even one of those wins was a struggle, with United having to come from behind to beat Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt 3-2 at Old Trafford in the Europa League.
Of course, Amorim realized that this would be a difficult job.
His style as a manager relies heavily on hard running and high pressure. Only Manchester City, Benfica and Porto had a higher defensive line since the start of the 2023/24 season, before he left Sporting CP.
But being flown to Carrington mid-season means he can't radically overhaul everything and make all the changes he'd like with immediate effect.
He has been taking extra sessions on the pitches at United's academy to make up for the lack of time with the squad.
He also refrains from too many in-person meetings with players, leaving that to his sidekicks so he can maximize his time on the field, ESPN reports.
More to follow.
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