(Football news) A couple of weeks after being officially sworn in as Erik ten Hag’s successor, Amorim pits his wits against Kieran McKenna, who was also touted as a potential Manchester United manager over the summer.
In with the Portuguese and out with the Dutch, the upbeat Amorim has not only inherited the torch from Ten Hag but also from Ruud van Nistelrooy, who oversaw a four-match unbeaten run as interim head coach before it was decided that he would not be continuing at Old Trafford under the new regime.
Despite being just 39 years of age—making him Manchester United’s youngest head coach since 31-year-old Wilf McGuinness in 1969—Amorim arrives with title-winning experience on his juvenile CV from his much-lauded time at the Sporting Lisbon helm, not to mention a recent 4-1 destruction of Manchester City in the Champions League.
Having already endeared himself to the Red Devils faithful by masterminding the pummelling of their biggest rivals, Amorim now seeks to achieve something that none of Ten Hag, Louis van Gaal, or Sir Alex Ferguson himself managed: win their first game as Manchester United manager.
Before packing his bags, Van Nistelrooy oversaw successive wins over PAOK in the Europa League and Leicester City in the top flight, although the 3-0 beating of the latter was not enough to propel Manchester United out of the bottom half; they currently reside in an unlucky 13th place in the Premier League table.
Furthermore, each of Van Nistelrooy’s three successes as Manchester United boss came on Old Trafford turf; the Red Devils have gone winless in their last five away matches across all competitions and still have just the one road victory to their name in 2024-25, the 3-0 triumph at Southampton in September.
Amorim’s nemesis for the weekend could give the Portuguese a pointer or two about life in the Manchester United dugout, as Ipswich head coach McKenna served as a scout and youth team coach for Manchester United before being a right-hand man for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Jose Mourinho, Michael Carrick, and Ralf Rangnick.
When Ten Hag’s future was clouded in uncertainty over the summer, McKenna was among several names tipped to take the reins, only to pen a new contract with an Ipswich side, who finally posted their first Premier League win at the 11th attempt two weekends ago.
Rocking up to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and astonishingly leaving with three points in the bag, the Tractor Boys struck through Liam Delap and Sammie Szmodics in the first 45 minutes before holding out for the final 20 after the now-banned Rodrigo Bentancur cut the deficit in half.
Ipswich’s upset of the Lilywhites not only gave them their first victory of the top-flight season, it also lifted them out of the demotion zone and into the relative safety of 17th place, although Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers are both within touching distance.
McKenna’s team are still the only Premier League side with no home victories to shout about in the 2024-25 campaign, though, and history does not bode well for their chances of ending that hoodoo; Manchester United have beaten Ipswich in each of their last four showdowns, most recently a 3-0 EFL Cup triumph in 2015.
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