If Pep Guardiola couldn't eat, sleep or stop scratching his head during Manchester City's poor form, imagine how new Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim feels in the bottom half of the league after five defeats in six games.
“You can see it in my face, you can compare the way I arrived and now,” says the 39-year-old, just 48 days into the toughest job in English football.
Amorim laughs at his own suggestion of premature aging but is deadly serious about the burden on his shoulders ahead of Sunday's match against top footballers Liverpool, which United fans fear could end in humiliation.
While Guardiola, 14 years older than Amorim and with grown-up children, often has to face the tough times alone, his United counterpart is happy to be accompanied by his wife and children as he tries to wake England's sleeping giant.
“My family came on December 27th. It was a good day,” he explains with more than a little relief. “I have them here now, so it's different, it can help me.”
Family is key for Amorim and that is why he was unwilling to follow his idol, Jose Mourinho, by staying alone for too long at the Lowry Hotel, where his compatriot stayed for 935 days.
Family provides Amorim perspective; he gains a sense of calm amid the hysteria that ensues when something goes wrong – a weekly battle these days.
It was one of the main reasons why Amorim did not want to cancel the planned family day last Tuesday.
United were bullied on home ground by Newcastle, but instead of piling on the pressure Pep-style, Amorim wanted to go a different route. So the players' wives, girlfriends and young children came in to have breakfast with the first team and coaches before watching training.
The players then – lifted by the presence of their families, according to sources – played a game of ball with their children before enjoying entertainment including face painting. Wednesday brought a day off – normally with no midweek games or travel – and sources talked about it being a well-timed “reset” moment.
The optimism that was in the build-up after Amorim's first game against Ipswich Town and the victories over Bodo/Glimt and Everton has been replaced by the fatigue and stress that comes with 14th place in the league.
Sponsorship agreements require European football. Supporters are restless. Respected figures in the sport, such as Mail Sport columnist Martin Keown, believe Amorim's 3-4-2-1 needs to be tweaked to stay afloat this season.
But sources insist Amorim is firmly behind his philosophy, and on Thursday there was an extra-long training session which led to Sky's interview time with the boss being postponed by two hours. For the first time since replacing Erik ten Hag, Amorim had a match-free week in which he could work with his players.
Training players on set pieces – which they have been particularly poor at since assistant Carlos Fernandes took over the reins; players practice positioning; players train for their fitness. This was the week where Amorim made no secret of what he desperately wanted.
“There is no panic among the boss,” said a source.
Although the charismatic Amorim is already extremely popular, he is also something of a smiling killer.
Marcus Rashford and his £325,000-a-week contract have been thrown to the curb. He has been battling an illness this week and it is highly unlikely he will feature in the squad on Sunday.
Alejandro Garnacho learned the hard way not to mess with the boss after being suspended for the Manchester derby following a show of dissent at Viktoria Plzen.
The Argentine is top scorer with eight goals (seven before Amorim took over) but the new system does not suit wingers, and he has fallen below the standards Amorim expects. It feels like there is a clearer path back than for Rashford, but the youngster remains a potentially moveable signing in the summer.
Teenagers Kobbie Mainoo and Leny Yoro are put to work for every performance. Yoro has started just three games under Amorim, while Mainoo has made four starts in eight.
'It's really difficult. It should be hard,” Amorim said. And with Liverpool and Arsenal next in line, he knows it will only get harder. In the eyes of the chief, now is not the time to erupt.
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