Ruben Amorim reveals Jim Ratcliffe comments had 'huge impact' on Man Utd team

Jim Ratcliffe has been vocal in his support of Ruben Amorim (Picture: Getty Images)

Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe made somewhat surprising comments about Ruben Amorim last month, but the manager believes they have been crucial in his team’s upturn in form.

Amorim had a very tough time in charge of the Red Devils last season after taking over from Erik ten Hag in November.

The current campaign seemed to continue where the last had left off, with a string of poor results, including a humiliating Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Grimsby Town.

The pressure was mounting on the Portuguese coach, but Ratcliffe dismissed any talk of him losing his job, instead saying Amorim would be given three years to prove himself at Old Trafford.

‘I remember the clamouring for Alex Ferguson to be fired in his first two years,’ Ratcliffe said on The Times’ The Business podcast in October.

‘You look at [Mikel] Arteta at Arsenal . He had a miserable time for the first couple of years.

‘We’re results-driven at the end of the day, but we have to be patient and we have to see through the results. I think there’s lots of good things at Manchester United . We have to be patient and we have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch.

Ruben Amorim has enjoyed improved results over the last few weeks (Picture: REUTERS)

‘Ruben needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years.’

Pushed on whether he sees three years as the likely timeframe he will give Amorim to show he can succeed, Ratcliffe said: ‘Yes. That’s where I would be. Three years, because football’s not overnight.’

Premier League managers are regularly out of a job long before a three-year anniversary and after such a shaky start under Amorim, it seemed a very big claim from the INEOS chief.

However, things have improved on the pitch since those comments, with the Red Devils undefeated in five matches, winning three and drawing two.

Ratcliffe consoles Amorim after Europa League final defeat to Tottenham in May (Picture: Getty Images)

Amorim says that the public backing of his boss did not change what he was doing, but did bring some calm to the club and to his players, so Ratcliffe’s words were extremely helpful.

‘It’s always really important, but it’s more important for the fans to understand that we have a clear path and we are going to do everything and, no matter what, we are going to continue that path,’ Amorim told Stan Sport on the support of the Manchester United hierarchy.

‘For me, I have to be really honest, it doesn’t change much because I’m not worried that I’m going to lose my job. I always have that feeling.

‘So it’s a good thing to hear but it doesn’t change anything in the way I behave. I know clearly what path I have to go.

Summer signing Bryan Mbeumo is proving a big hit at Manchester United (Picture: Getty Images)

‘But if you remember when Jim gave that interview. That settled down a lot around the club. The noise around the club changed completely. So that was really important for the team and if it’s really important for the team, its really important for me.