After losing the Europa League final, Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim ruled out the possibility of resigning, but he declared that he could not pay a release fee if the board and fans asked him to step down. Of course, despite what he said, the British media revealed that the owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazer family, who were watching the game, had no plans to change the coach.
Overall, Amorim has won just six Premier League games since taking charge in November, drawing six and losing 13, his club's worst season since the Premier League began in 1992. The loss of the Europa League title completely dashed the hope of saving the season in the end, and the record was obviously unqualified.
However, according to the British newspaper The Times, Rajue made it clear before the game that Manchester United would continue to be coached by Amorim regardless of the outcome of this final. Moreover, if Amorim resigned, Rajue would even try to dissuade him, because he had a high opinion of Amorim. It is said that unless Amorim insists on leaving, he will be the manager next season, and there is no threat to his position.
In addition to Rajue's endorsement of Amorim, another reason is that it costs money to change the manager. Even if Amorim really doesn't want to pay compensation, he can only represent himself, and his six- or seven-man coaching team still needs to lose money. Poaching a new manager, and there may also be a termination fee or signing fee, which are expenses that the United owner does not want to have.
At the moment, Amorim's attitude is that he will not resign unless the club fires him; And Rajue said that he would not be fired unless Amorim resigned. The outcome is very clear, and the two sides will continue to cooperate.
The British media, which hyped up the new Manchester United manager, were in vain, and their list of favourites lacked novelty: Jose Mourinho and Allegri. Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner has also been mentioned, but he will not be much higher than Amorim, although he led his side to FA Cup triumph.
Amorim looked unconvinced after the Europa League final, believing that United were better overall than Tottenham, but failed to score. "We are very frustrated by this loss. We only lost one game in this tournament, but unfortunately it was the final. I think if you look at the whole game, you can see that we were the better team. But if you don't score, you can't win."
He also denied that he had misjudged the starting line-up, and Garnacho was generally more likely to play as a regular than Mason Mount. But Amorim said: 'It's easy to say now, but who wasted a great chance in the first half of the Europa League semi-final? Garnacho. That's football."
As for why he made a substitution after 70 minutes, Amorim said: "I think you can see the same situation, we started the second half well and it wasn't my style of doing things to make adjustments to see me. We had the advantage and when I felt we needed to make a substitution, I brought in another player."
Manchester United will return to Old Trafford to host Aston Villa for their final game of the season this Sunday. If they lose, they will end up with 39 points, not even reaching the traditional 40-point relegation cut-off. However, Amorim insists that not winning the title and missing out on the Champions League is not necessarily all bad.
'My next goal is to develop the club, tonight we have to overcome the pain and then take the time to evaluate the season. There's one more game, let's finish the season and think about the future." "It's hard to discuss the positives tonight, but we need to make the most of everything," Amorim said. We're going to lose because we don't qualify for the Champions League, which is hard for the club to deal with. But on the other hand, we also have more time to develop the team, focus on the academy and look to the future. It's obvious, we need to use every minute to improve the team and we already have plans to move forward in the summer."
Amorim stresses that he is the man who can revive Manchester United: "I believe I am still that person, more confident than when I first arrived. I knew it was going to be tough, we lost to a Premier League team in the final. I also know that the patience of the fans will be more limited next season. But I promise you: I'm not quitting, I'm not leaving, I'm really confident. I'm more confident now because I know the club, I know what it means to coach Manchester United, I understand what the team needs, so I have better conditions to achieve my goals.'