Ruben Amorim given stark warning over accepting Man Utd job 'five steps up'

Ruben Amorim has been warned that the Manchester United job is 'five steps up' from his 'amazing' work at Sporting Lisbon.

United are closing in on the appointment of Amorim after reaching an agreement to pay Sporting €12million (£10m) for him and three members of coaching staff. The 39-year-old, who's won two Primeira Liga titles with his current employers, will take over from Erik ten Hag, who was sacked on Monday following United's controversial 2-1 defeat away to West Ham.

The Red Devils are mouldering 14th in the Premier League table, having lost four of their opening nine games under Ten Hag. Ruud van Nistelrooy is currently serving as caretaker manager but once Amorin takes charge for his first game after next month's international break, it'll be a serious step up from his time in Lisbon.

That's according to ex- Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson, who's hailed Amorim's record with the Portuguese giants but warned him that managing United will be a different animal.

"He's done amazing at Sporting," Merson told Sky Sports. "This is going to be different. No disrespect. They play against Porto and Benfica and that's it. He's coming in to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world. We've seen it with Ten Hag: brilliant at Ajax, come to Man Utd, win one, draw one, lose one and you're under pressure. There's a lot of work to be done. This is five steps up."

"Will Amorim be different to the managers who have gone before? I don't know if he will. He's managed in Portugal, done everything right, his team did very well against Arsenal last year. But this is different. It's hard to explain.

"We've seen with all these managers, you're under severe pressure every game. As a football team they're nowhere near those heights. One of the biggest football clubs in the world with a just-above-average football team. I can't emphasise enough how far they are behind the big boys at the moment."

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Amorim's success in Portugal has also come with a captivating style of play, setting up in a 3-4-3 formation and pressing high. Sporting boast a 100 per cent record this season, kicking off their league title defence by winning all nine games, scoring 30 goals and conceding just two.

United are a long way off challenging for the Premier League and when asked what Amorim's first priority at United should be, Merson replied: "Getting the players to understand the way they want to play. I watch Man Utd play and there hasn't been identity there for a long time now. He has to come in, get his ideas across and start playing as a team.

"They don't press together. He has to get everybody understanding the way he wants to play. I don't think anyone could sit there and tell me what Man Utd were trying to do. Chelsea against Newcastle, you know what they're trying to do. That manager has been in there two or three months.

"They've got to learn how to walk first. There are going to be some great times in the next two or three months where they play scintillating football and win games but it's going to be up and down. I don't know how long it is going to take but it won't happen overnight on a consistent basis."

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