Michael Owen places blame firmly on Ruben Amorim with Man Utd firing verdict

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Michael Owen believes Ruben Amorim's outburst against the Manchester United board gave the unhappy hierarchy the ideal chance to dismiss him from the Old Trafford job

Michael Owen has offered his opinion on the situation at Old Trafford(Image: Getty Images)

Former Liverpool star Michael Owen reckons Ruben Amorim's public criticism of the Manchester United board handed the disgruntled hierarchy the "perfect opportunity" to fire him.

Amorim was relieved of his Old Trafford duties following 14 months at the helm, with his final game ending in a 1-1 stalemate against Leeds at Elland Road. While the result itself didn't seem grounds for dismissal, the Portuguese manager's extraordinary press conference certainly provided justification.

Despite languishing in 15th place in the Premier League last season and boasting a meagre win rate of just 31.9 percent, the 40-year-old publicly demanded greater authority at the club, hinted at his departure when his contract expires in 18 months, and urged every department to "do their job."

His remarks presented the perfect excuse for the United hierarchy to terminate his calamitous reign without the humiliation of acknowledging they'd backed the wrong candidate based purely on pitch performances.

Speaking to the Daily Star via Casino.org, where he is UK ambassador, which helps players find the best casino online options in Britain, Owen said: "It's similar to Chelsea in a way.

"It's happened really quickly and I think similar scenario around the decision - manager not seeing eye to eye with different departments within the football club.

Ruben Amorim gave Manchester United the 'perfect opportunity' to fire him(Image: Getty Images)

"I totally understand Manchester United parting ways because you can't say those things, and expect to keep your job.

"Plus, if Ruben Amorim was top of the Premier League and he said those things, then I'm sure they would work it out in-house and come to some form of agreement.

"But when your results have been as bad in a long time for Manchester United in their history, when there's question marks about the way the team are playing, the formation, the insistence on playing a certain way, I just think there's lots of things whereby once he said it, it was the perfect opportunity for Manchester United to act.

"To say, do you know what, we weren't really happy anyway, we were prepared to keep going to see if he could turn things around for the rest of it, but now he said this, it's just the perfect opportunity to make a change now."

Like United, Chelsea also fired its manager by parting company with Enzo Maresca on New Year's Day.

Liam Rosenior has since taken over at Stamford Bridge.

United has commenced the search for a new manager following Darren Fletcher's appointment as interim boss for the Premier League clash with Burnley on Wednesday and the FA Cup fixture against Brighton on Sunday.

Reports suggest that discussions are progressing with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer regarding a surprising return as temporary manager before securing a permanent successor in the summer.