Ruben Amorim caused damage to the big screen television in Manchester United’s dressing room during a furious critique of his players’ performance in the 3-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The United head coach unleashed his emotions after witnessing the seventh defeat of his 15 games in charge, fiercely voicing his displeasure at his team and showing his frustrations physically.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the incident, speaking anonymously to protect relationships, have told The Athletic that the TV used to go through tactics before kick-off was caught as collateral and will require fixing before the visit of Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Amorim’s reaction was striking to those on the receiving end who have experienced angry managers before, but even more pronounced on this occasion because usually the Portuguese does not say a word in the immediate aftermath of matches. As he has done his whole coaching career, Amorim prefers to stay silent straight after the final whistle and instead go through analysis the next day in a more sober fashion.
But his outburst after Brighton, where his team were easily beaten, bears similarities with the infamous hairdryer treatment delivered by Sir Alex Ferguson when he was upset at displays.
Amorim has previously said he is trying to shock his players and others at the club through his words, but results continue to be majorly disappointing.
Amorim spoke to minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe for around 20 minutes after United beat Southampton, three days before the Brighton game, and club executives are supporting the 39-year-old by making moves in the market to suit his system, opening talks for Lecce wing-back Patrick Dorgu.
Ratcliffe attended the win over Southampton at Old Trafford (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Ratcliffe himself has been blunt in appraisals on the picture at United.
After the Brighton game Amorim calmed down by the time he entered the Old Trafford press conference suite but his feelings were clear when he called this version of United “maybe the worst in history”. Amorim was also annoyed at his players’ lack of tactical discipline in the closing stages of the game.
“I knew that it was going to be hard to put a completely new idea in the moment but when you lose games and don’t win three games in a row it becomes really hard,” he said. “So that’s why I’m telling we are going to suffer because I will continue to do the same.
“To help my players is to give them the tools to play in this way but then without training is really hard. You can feel it in the end of the game, everybody was changing position and that is something I will not see again. We can lose but we have to maintain position.
“I just want to help my players. If I want to show to the media or to the fans, I put two strikers. But I didn’t put two strikers because if I do it’s going to be more difficult for them to understand the way we play.
“I am just here to try to help my players but we need to understand we are breaking all the bad records. It’s a proud thing we need to change.”
GO DEEPER
Is this really ‘the worst team in the history of Manchester United’?
(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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