Ruben Amorim’s comments are the beginning of the end of his Man Utd tenure

Ruben Amorim used Manchester United‘s 1-1 draw at Leeds to speak cryptically about dissent behind the scenes at Old Trafford – and put a target on his own back.

In scenes we’ve seen before , Amorim repeatedly goaded the United board to sack him as the Portuguese manager stated he was ready to move on when his contract expires in 18 months’ time

He also indicated he had encountered unwanted intrusion in his duties from senior United figures that would not be tolerated elsewhere and took a drive-by at Gary Neville.

“I just want to say I came here to be the manager, not to be the coach,” Amorim said after United failed to win the Roses derby.

“In every department – the scouting department, the sporting director – [they] need to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.

“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.”

It’s quite telling that Amorim is now asserting himself as a manager, rather than sticking to his designated role as coach, when the coaching has gone badly.

Amorim changed the system to four at the back for the victory over Newcastle on Boxing Day but reverted to a back three for subsequent games, including at Leeds.

Now rumours that certain board members are insisting on more tactical flexibility are seaping into the public domain.

Amorim wasn’t done. “If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club,” he continued.

Neville is one of several high-profile former United players who have been vocally critical of the club recently.

He’s an easy target, as many United fans have mixed feelings over their former player turned pundit, but this is a pretty transparent attempt at deflection.

When asked if he still feels he has the confidence of the United hierarchy, Amorim said: “To start with that, I noticed that you received selective information about everything.

“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United , not to be the coach of Manchester United . That is clear.

“I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it’s not [Antonio] Conte, it’s not [Jose] Mourinho, but I’m the manager of Manchester United .

“And it’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change. I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.”

There must be something about Elland Road which causes famous heads to go west; it was only last month that Leeds was the venue of Mohamed Salah’s now infamous outburst.

After denoting several grenades, Amorim was given the chance to fully explain his post-match comments.

Instead, he chose to leave the media room and let the journalists figure it out for themselves. It’s almost like he’s been taking life coach advice from Enzo Maresca.

United are on course to qualify for Europe, although unlikely to play in the Champions League on current form, which was the club’s pre-season target.

But performances remain hugely variable – Amorim’s team are capable of dropping points to just about anybody.

Progress is being made. Perhaps. If you squint and take a psychedelic interpretation of the football being served up by Amorim.

Elland Road is never an easy away venue, even for the best United teams, but this was a pretty drab performance against limited opponents.

Amorim is entitled to feel frustrated if the terms of the job at Old Trafford have changed, but he’s playing an extremely dangerous game voicing them in public.

As we wrote after Maresca’s ‘worst 48 hours outburst’ , billionaires do not take kindly to being challenged in public.

And, like the former Chelsea boss, we can’t help but feel Amorim has just given the board ammunition to be used against him in the not-too-distant future.