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Ruben Amorim was once under consideration for the Liverpool job, but the character trait that is costing him dear at Manchester United was the reason the Reds rejected him.
Amorim's stubbornness and refusal to veer away from a formation that has never once looked suitable at Old Trafford has seen him come under scrutiny from supporters, particularly at the start of this season. Amorim promised fans after United's final home game of last season that "the good times are coming," but the Red Devils are 10th and lost to a League Two team in August.
Remarkably, three league wins in seven games actually represents a marked improvement to United's win percentage on last season, when the team registered just 11 league wins across the entire campaign.
Two of those wins came at home to promoted teams, while the third came against a Chelsea team that played with 10 men for over 85 minutes in Manchester.
Dismal away losses to Manchester City and Brentford led to the most vociferous calls for Amorim to be axed, yet he remains in situ, for now — and it sounds as though that will be the case for some time yet.
“We’re results-driven at the end of the day, but we have to be patient and we have to see through the results," United's co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, told a new business podcast by The Times. "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 needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years.”
Three years is a long time to give a man who has shown very few signs that he is capable of turning the United ship around.
Amorim's determination to play with a back three (or a back five, depending on how you look at it), was the main reason he was overlooked for the Liverpool job, despite the success he was enjoying with Sporting Lisbon.
The Liverpool hierarchy did not feel as though Amorim's preferred system would suit Jurgen Klopp's players, and the cost of overhauling the squad in order to fit his method was deemed far too prohibitive.
Liverpool plumped for Arne Slot instead, and that decision has proved to be a masterstroke, with the Reds winning the Premier League title during the Dutchman's first season in charge.
United put itself in a sticky situation by appointing Amorim 11 months ago. Liverpool's more considered approach to appointing a new head coach ensured it avoided any such predicament altogether.
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