A few weeks ago, Ruben Amorim was tipped to be sacked by Manchester United. Whilst his situation is less precarious, the Portuguese manager is not yet completely out of the woods.
After a catastrophic start to the season, Manchester United were on the brink of parting company with Ruben Amorim but the board took the gamble of maintaining their faith in the Portuguese boss. A few weeks later, the English club are faring much better and now sit sixth in the Premier League table, just two points behind Chelsea in fourth and the first side directly qualified for the Champions League.
The positive momentum affords Ruben Amorim a bit of breathing space but does not guarantee his long-term stay at Manchester United. Indeed, as reported by TEAMtalk, INEOS have set one condition for not axing the Portuguese at the end of the season: he must qualify the Red Devils for European competition and if possible, for the Champions League, which is far from assured given the fierce competition in the race for the top four.
Champions League qualification condition to save Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim will only be sacked if European qualification becomes out of reach, as was the case last season with a woeful 15th place in the league. Because whilst Manchester United are not far from Champions League qualification on paper, everything remains possible. Everton in ninth are only two points behind the Manchester giants. The density of the Premier League's mid-table does not allow for projections.
But the 40-year-old boss should get a helping hand to reach his objective. Manchester United plan to be active during the winter transfer window with notably midfield set to be strengthened and a striker likely to be recruited to fill the void left by African players during AFCON. ManU's other advantage is having a more favourable fixture list with no European competition to navigate. Ruben Amorim knows what he must do to save his skin at Old Trafford.
This article was originally published on Top Mercato.
