Man Utd chief impressed by how Premier League boss handled Ruben Amorim

Ruben Amorim aimed pointed comments at the Manchester United hierarchy (Picture: Getty Images)

Manchester United ’s director of recruitment, Christopher Vivell, feels Ruben Amorim ’s tactics are predictable and was impressed by how another Premier League boss made that situation clear.

Amorim’s future at Old Trafford is in doubt after explosive comments on Sunday about his role at the club.

The Portuguese insisted he wants to be a manager and not a head coach, hinting at friction between him and the club’s hierarchy.

He also clearly stated that he does not expect to be in charge of Manchester United beyond his current contract, which runs until the end of the 2026/27 season.

Amorim was speaking after a 1-1 draw at Leeds United and he sounded a lot like a manager who would be out of work in the near future.

Vivell has already aired frustrations with Amorim and his preferred 3-4-3 system, which has drawn so much criticism since he took over in November 2024.

After Manchester United drew 1-1 at Fulham in August, Cottagers boss Marco Silva succinctly explained how he set up to deal with Amorim’s team.

Marco Silva’s Fulham are 11th in the Premier League (Picture: Getty Images)

‘We knew how they defend and we know they like to press from the back five,’ said Silva. ‘And if you don’t give them references to press from the back five, you can create superiority in the middle.

‘We know they play with two in the middle, so we tried to create an overload with our three, plus Alex [Iwobi]. It was as simple as that.’

The Telegraph report that Vivell shared these comments in a ‘WhatsApp group for United’s senior leadership team’ with the aim of pointing out that Amorim’s style of play is too predictable.

The Red Devils chief was impressed by how simply Silva had taken apart his opponent’s plan.

Christopher Vivell appreciated Silva’s explanation of Amorim’s work (Picture: Getty Images)

Silva is considered a contender for the Manchester United job if Amorim is to leave his post.

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The former Hull, Watford and Everton manager has been in charge of Fulham since July 2021 when the club was in the Championship.

He has re-established the west London side as a steady Premier League force, with over 200 games under his belt as Cottagers boss.

Manchester United are actually having a much better season this time round than last, currently sixth in the Premier League and just three points off the top four.

However, Amorim spoke out last month on his belief that he will not be able to make his preferred 3-4-3 formation work as the club will not buy the players to do so.

He was asked about those comments again on Sunday after the draw at Leeds, which led to his memorable rant.

‘I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear,’ he said.

"I came here to be the manager, not the coach!" 👔Ruben Amorim came out with a strong press conference following Man United's draw 😳 pic.twitter.com/f68YShkQiC — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 4, 2026

‘I know that my name is not Tuchel, is not Conte, is not Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United. It’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decided to change.

‘That was my point. I want to finish with that. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until other guy is coming here to replace me.’

He then suggested he intends to move on at the end of the 2026/27 season when his current contract ends, saying: ‘I just want to say that I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. I was really clear on that.

‘That is going to finish in 18 months, and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal. That is my job, not to be a coach.