‘It’s going to be like this for 18 months’ – Amorim sends very clear warning to Man Utd board

Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim has insisted that he will be a “manager, not coach” at Old Trafford as promised on his arrival at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils continued their inconsistent form on Sunday with a 1-1 draw against Leeds United at Elland Road.

A clinical Matheus Cunha finish got Man Utd back on level terms on 65 minutes, just three minutes after Leeds attacker Brenden Aaronson took advantage of an Ayden Heaven mistake to give the Yorkshire side the lead.

Man Utd are somehow fifth in the Premier League table despite winning just three of their last 11 matches in the Premier League.

The nature of division means that the Red Devils are likely to finish the day only a few points from the bottom half of the Premier League.

Amid reports of tension between Amorim and director of football Jason Wilcox, the Man Utd boss gave a clear warning to the board.

READ: Man Utd don’t lose at Leeds and that’s just fine for negative Ruben Amorim

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Amorim said: “I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the head coach. I know my name is not Conte, Tuchel, Mourinho but I’m the manager of Manchester United.

“It’s going to be like this for 18 months or until the board decide to change. I’m not going to quit. I’ll do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.”

Reacting to his side’s performance against Leeds, the Man Utd boss said: “In the Premier League, it is hard to find a game you are satisfied with a draw, that is why it is an amazing league.

“Overall, if you see the game we had more control. We created more chances, we controlled well, so if you look at the game you feel the frustration that we had the chance to win. It is a tough match in tough conditions.

“The game plan was to understand what we did wrong against Wolves. We improved a lot because we were in the right positions. We improved from the last game.

“It’s strange because they started a little bit better in the second half. When we are in control, we need to be focused in every detail. We know against West Ham, we are in control then one disconnection, there was a goal. We need to be connected all the time.

“We managed to control our emotions and to score the next goal, and we had a big chance. I think we deserved a little better, but it’s okay.”

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In another interview with TNT Sports, Amorim added: “I think we played well. I think we had more control in this game than we showed against Wolves. That is important because it shows how you can prepare for this week with the mistakes that we learned from the last game. We controlled Leeds, on the set pieces, the second balls, they are really quick up front. We controlled it well.

“We had our opportunities to win the game. We are losing games on the details – the Leeds goal, we are controlling the game and then one kick of the ball in transition but we managed to get back into the game. Last year it would be completely different. This year we are more in control of the games than we were last year but we are frustrated not to win.”

On the Leeds goal, the Man Utd boss continued: “Ayden and Leny are really young but it is not because of that. If you play so well during 90m minutes and you have a mistake that can happen. If you look at the game we had chances to score the second one and nobody would be talking about the goal of Leeds.”

On goalscorer Cunha, he said: “Not just him but Josh [Zirkzee] played well in the 20 minutes he had, Ben [Sesko] linked the play well today, Ugarte is showing that he has more to give, and I am really pleased. If these guys play well we always have the chance to win the game.”

When asked about the January transfer window, he replied: “United is one of the best clubs in the world. If you are here and focusing on a different club then something is wrong with you. Just focus on the game and prepare with the players that we have. We have more too, I expect more minutes for Fernandes and Mount, so we have more players that can help us.”