Amorim needs three years at Man Utd says Ratcliffe

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim will be given the full three years of his contract to prove himself, says co-owner Jim Ratcliffe.

Amorim has won just 10 of his 34 Premier League matches in charge since arriving last year and has come under pressure for his refusal to change system.

United finished 15th in the Premier League last season and lie in 10th place this season after seven matches.

But Ratcliffe says the club need to be patient and back the Portuguese manager.

“I remember the clamouring for Alex Ferguson to be fired in his first two years,” Ratcliffe told The Times’ podcast The Business. “You look at (Mikel) Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable time for the first couple of years.

“We’re results-driven at the end of the day, but we have to be patient and we have to see through the results. 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.”

Ratcliffe also said he wants to revive the club’s academy that once churned out the likes of multiple title winners David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville.

“The academy has really slipped at Manchester United,” Ratcliffe said. “You don’t solve the academy problem overnight. It takes time. We just recruited a new academy director.”