Ruben Amorim has revealed that he wants to be the head coach of Manchester United for the next 20 years.
The Portuguese boss is about to take the lead on his first full campaign in Old Trafford – his first half season saw him lead the club to 15th place and beat in the Europa League final.
Performances in the preseason have left Amorim hopefully that United is a “completely different side” to be the last term, and the 40-year-old now supports himself to have a term of office in Sir Alex Ferguson style with United.
Speaking for the Premier League Summer Series match with Everton, Live on Sky Sports on Sunday evening, Amorim said about his long-term plans in the club: “Yes, I want to stay. I want to stay 20 (years). That is my goal and I really believe in it. Always.
“Something will happen. In some moments I will be lucky. I was very lucky during my career as a manager and my idea is to stay for years.
“But again, we know the results will dictate. I know I used all the credits last season, but I'm ready to start fresh.
“I want to be Manchester United for a while. And I needed five years to choose this club, so I don't want to fail.”
Asked for his chances of success at United, Amorim replied: “If you look, sport was the same. They said I am outside in three months.
“They said I had three percent (chance to win one title with sport. It was the same.”
Antony, Sancho and More – Amorim in transfer outputs
Amorim has also tackled the transfer situation of United this summer – with a focus on expenditure at the moment.
United has already let Marcus Rashford leave to become a member of Barcelona, but the future of Antony, Alejandro Garnacho, Tyrell Malacia and Jadon Sancho are still in the air.
United did not take over the quartet on their Premier League Summer Series Tour team and gave them more time away from the club during the preseason to find new clubs.
“We only have to follow the markets,” Amorim said about those four players. “So the market is open. There are players who clearly show that they do not want to be here and that is normal. They are not bad and I am good. I am not bad and they are good.
“It is a simple situation that they want new challenges. So we will try to use this space to prepare the team that I think it will be here.
“If the market closes and then they are Manchester United players, we as a club have to treat them in the same circumstances. But at the moment I just work with the players I think they will stay and the other boys try to find a solution for their career.”
Amorim: Talented Garnacho has not worked out
Amorim was also specifically asked for Garnacho – which was associated with a move to Chelsea and Aston Villa.
The United Boss believes that the academy product is still a talented player, but says that it was not successful for the 21-year-old at Old Trafford.
“You can understand it and you can see that he is a real talented boy and sometimes it will not be fine,” Amorim said. “You cannot explain what it is.
“But I have the feeling, I think it is clear that Garnacho wants something else with a different leadership and I can understand that. So I think it's not a problem.
“Sometimes you adjust to one man, you have the connection. Other times you want a new challenge, so we try to make up for everything for all parts. To the club, to the coach and the players. It's a natural thing in football.”
Amorim also revealed that the sale is important this summer because it wants a smaller team this season – since United is not in the European competition, so he will only fight on three fronts.
“I am really happy with the team,” said Amorim. “Without European competitions I want a small team, so that everyone feels really important.
“If you have many players, you have a week to prepare and many players will come out, and then they will be frustrated in training and then the quality of the training will fall.”