Ruud van Nistelrooy has succeeded in stabilizing the situation as the interim coach of Manchester United. Before that, Erik ten Hag was fired and Amorim will now inherit a much more stable team than 2 weeks ago.
Amorim has decided not to keep Van Nistelrooy in his assistant team. The Dutchman's departure was confirmed hours after Amorim arrived at Carrington for the first time as head coach.
The Portuguese tactician is still waiting for a work permit, but that will not stop him from going to Carrington and holding meetings. However, there are still many other problems at Old Trafford that Amorim has to deal with. Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Man United's shirt has become too heavy, hampering results and turning world-class players into failures. Addressing this problem and the seemingly toxic environment around Old Trafford should be Amorim's top priority.
The achievements at Sporting show that Amorim has enough skills for this job, having stabilized the club after many years of instability. However, at Old Trafford, the level of difficulty will increase many times. Many more experienced coaches than the 39-year-old have tried and failed.
Amorim's handling of media scrutiny since his appointment to the "hot seat" of Man United is relatively stable. Having overcome his uncomfortable mid-season departure from Sporting, Amorim is still cheerful and connects well with the media. The 39-year-old strategist seems to be a public figure.
Amorim needs to immediately stabilize the "Red Devils" dressing room and find the right balance. Especially in restoring confidence but still holding the right to establish its own principles. That was the key to Amorim's success or failure at Old Trafford.
In fact, Man United's squad at the moment still has too many problems and it is difficult to compete for major titles. However, with the right approach, as seen under Van Nistelrooy, performance will improve significantly. The club's new leadership has spent more than £200 million to upgrade the squad and they want to see a more obvious breakthrough.
In a statement after taking the job at Man United, Amorim said: "I feel ready for a new challenge. I'm not naive, I know things will be very different and very difficult. But that's inevitable."
