Gary Neville ‘Not Surprised’ Amorim Sacked

• Gary Neville said he was “not surprised”, yet expected more time
• Neville called the decision a poor reflection on the club and its choices
• He urged United to appoint a coach who matches their identity

Gary Neville said he is “not surprised” Manchester United have sacked Ruben Amorim, yet he did not expect it to happen so quickly.

United dismissed Amorim on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after his final match, a 1-1 draw away at Leeds United. Darren Fletcher has been named interim head coach. 

Neville said the speed of the decision points to failure across the club.

“It means it’s not worked, it means the decision making all the way through hasn’t been successful,” Neville told Sky Sports.

“Particularly when you’re sacking a manager part-way through a season, it’s very difficult to get an adequate replacement in.

“I am surprised it’s happened this morning. I’m not surprised it’s happened. I didn’t realise it would happen so quickly.

“I thought they’d get through another couple of weeks. Obviously it has become that challenging internally that they decided to do it very quickly. It was a shock this morning when I heard the news.”

Neville also said results and performances had forced the issue.

“There has to be a level of honesty that occurs when there are disappointing performances occurring.

“If you look at some of the performances in the last month they have been shocking.

“The Wolves game seemed to be the killer game, it was a bad one.”

Amorim’s final weeks included a public argument about his authority, with the Portuguese coach stressing he was the “manager” and not simply a coach. 

Neville said Amorim’s commitment to his system was a major factor in the outcome, pointing to how poorly the team coped with the shape and demands.

“I thought Man United would adapt a lot better to the back three than they did,” Neville continued.

“I’m really stunned that over the period of time that Ruben Amorim has been at the club that they’ve continued to play so poorly in that system.

“It’s a difficult system, [playing] wing-backs is challenging. The positions behind the centre forward are difficult positions. There are quite specialist positions in the system. [Three] centre-backs as well.

“But that’s a failing upon the manager, the players and the club, in terms of not recruiting properly for it.

“Louis van Gaal had his own philosophy. Jose Mourinho plays a certain style of football. So does David Moyes. Erik ten Hag, again, a very different style of football – different to what United ordinarily would play.

“Amorim, a very different style of football than United would ordinarily expect.”

Neville said United’s repeated changes in direction have left them without a clear football identity, and he argued the club must return to what he believes supporters expect.

“The experiments have got to stop,” he continued.

“Bobby Charlton talks about what Man United is as a football club.

“Adventurous, exciting football, playing young players, entertaining the crowd. United must take risks and be courageous in playing attacking football.

“They have got to appoint a manager that fits the DNA of their club. Ajax will never change for anybody, Barcelona will never change for anybody. I don’t believe United should change for anybody.

“The club has to find a manager now who’s got experience, who’s willing to play fast, entertaining, attacking, aggressive football.”