Manager has tweaked his tactics but maintained the overall system, and the club legend says that may ultimately bring him success
Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was “playing Russian roulette” with his job a few weeks ago by refusing to abandon his footballing philosophy.
There were loud calls for Amorim’s sacking just weeks into the season after an unconvincing start to the campaign.
However, United have now strung together three straight Premier League wins for the first time under the Portuguese coach, with victories against Sunderland, Liverpool and then Brighton easing the pressure on Amorim.
“I admire it to a certain extent,” said Ferdinand regarding the United manager’s insistence on his system. “But like I said, I think he was playing Russian Roulette with his job.”
There have been some visible changes to Amorim’s tactics in the last few games. His team are more solid in midfield, with either one of the No 10s dropping in or one of the centre-backs stepping up to add an extra body.
United are also going more direct rather than building up slowly at the back.
Ferdinand said: “I don’t think he’s changed drastically, he’s just tweaked. That’s what a lot of fans were asking for. Just tweak what you’ve got.
“Maybe don’t be so much on the front foot, maybe be a bit more conservative at times when we haven’t got the ball. You can’t press, press, press for 90 minutes, unless you’re an absolute beast of a team. PSG do it. This manager couldn’t do that with this squad.”
The former United centre-back believes Amorim’s insistence on sticking to his principles through the rough patch could ultimately make him a success at the club.
“That’s just sometimes how the cookie crumbles,” said Ferdinand.
“We might look back in six months and, say Man United finish in the Champions League or something like that, he’ll probably sit there confidently and go, ‘Well, if I did change, I probably would be out of a job because I have been doing things that are alien to me.’”
