Ruben Amorim might be the face of Manchester United’s worst-ever Premier League slump, but pinning this disaster on the Portuguese coach misses the mark.

Sure, the Red Devils look downright rotten languishing in 15th with just four wins in 15 games under Amorim but the guy’s shown guts stepping into a dumpster fire he didn’t start.

Even if relegation looms (unlikely with the promoted trio floundering), it’s not his fault.

Back at his first presser three months ago, Amorim was brimming with hope: “I truly believe in the players. I know you [the media] don’t believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don’t think it’s possible, but I do. Call me naïve, but I truly feel that I am the right man in the right moment. I could be wrong, but the earth will turn and the sun will rise again, it doesn’t matter, and I am not worried about that. I truly believe that I am the right guy for this job.”

Now, with United scraping by, you’d forgive him for second-guessing that faith. Critics say the squad’s stagnation and historic lows prove he’s not the savior he claimed but that ignores the bravery it took to leave Sporting CP’s cozy nest for Old Trafford’s chaos.

Things had to hit rock bottom before climbing up, and Amorim’s holding firm with class amid the storm.

A Glimmer in the Gloom at Goodison

Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Everton a team revived under ex-United boss David Moyes was a microcosm of the mess.

The Toffees bossed the first half, racing to a 2-0 lead while United didn’t manage a shot on target for 70 minutes. Then Bruno Fernandes curled in a free-kick lifeline, and Manuel Ugarte’s stunning 80th-minute volley snatched a point VAR’s late penalty overturn didn’t hurt either.

Still, Amorim wasn’t popping champagne. “I don’t know,” he told TNT Sports when asked why momentum’s eluding them. “If I knew, I would change it. We have to continue to think in the next game, everything we do in the week we have to use it in the game. … In this moment we need to focus on day by day. We need to survive this season, and then to think ahead. We have so many problems, and then when we go to the game and let the time pass, it’s really hard.” He didn’t dodge the negatives but highlighted the second-half fight: “The second half was so much better in the belief. In the end we were near to winning this game.”

Amorim’s Straight Talk Isn’t the Issue

Amorim’s bluntness calling this squad “the worst in the club’s history” has rubbed some the wrong way, with folks questioning his leadership vibe.

But compare that to Erik ten Hag’s delusional cheerleading after every flop, claiming progress while blindly backing underperformers.

That didn’t work Ten Hag became a punchline. Amorim’s facing the wreckage head-on, not hiding from it.

United’s in survival mode, and he’s sifting through the rubble to see who’s worth keeping. Most of this squad’s scrapping for their futures, and Amorim’s insistence on sky-high standards is the only shot at shaking off the mediocrity that’s festered for a decade.

Sticking to His Guns

Fans and pundits keep begging Amorim to tweak his 3-4-3 setup 0especially at halftime against Everton but he’s not budging. “To stick to the plan, that’s what the manager was very upset with us [about],” Fernandes spilled to TNT Sports.

“To stick to the plan that we have during the season to make it work, even if things are not going well. We have to stick to what our ideas are.” Amorim doubled down: “In training, we continue to do the same. That’s why in the second half we didn’t change anything, we have to do the same thing, but in a good way.” Some slap him with the “stubborn” tag, but they’re missing the forest for the trees.

Ten Hag’s flop came from a team with no identity just vibes and flashes of brilliance that fizzled out. Amorim’s bullheadedness is what United needs to rebuild a spine. Patience could pay off if the club backs him like they did Ten Hag.

Amorim’s “problems” rant isn’t whining it’s reality. Injuries are shredding United: Amad Diallo and Lisandro Martinez are done for the season, Kobbie Mainoo’s out for “weeks,” and Luke Shaw and Mason Mount are still question marks.

Amad and Mainoo are among United’s best, alongside Fernandes, and Martinez is the only center-back comfy on the left of Amorim’s back three. No wonder they’re leaking goals and misfiring up top.

January’s grab of young full-back Patrick Dorgu was a start, but summer needs big defensive signings and a new keeper to replace shaky Andre Onana. Up front? Rasmus Hojlund’s 16-game goal drought swapped for 17-year-old Chido Obi at Everton screams that the £72 million ($90m) Atalanta splurge was a bust.

Joshua Zirkzee (£36m/$45m) and Alejandro Garnacho have spark but no finish, forcing Amorim to raid the academy.

This isn’t Amorim’s doing it’s Ten Hag’s leftovers. How can you fault a guy for a mess he didn’t make? He’s not perfect, but he’s brave, and that’s more than United’s had in a while.

Ruben Amorim’s Bold Leap: Why He Deserves Credit, Not Blame, at Man United

Ruben Amorim stepped into a Manchester United mess not of his own making, and calling him the fall guy for this nightmare season relegation or not just doesn’t hold water.

Three months ago, he walked into his first presser brimming with grit: “I truly believe in the players. I know you [the media] don’t believe a lot, but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don’t think it’s possible, but I do. Call me naïve, but I truly feel that I am the right man in the right moment.”

Now, with United stuck in 15th, scraping just four wins from 15 Premier League games, you’d wonder if he’s still so sure. But rewind the tape this isn’t his disaster.

Picture this: last June, Sir Jim Ratcliffe could’ve handed Amorim the reins. Instead, he doubled down on Erik ten Hag with a contract extension that flopped hard, leaving Amorim to inherit a trainwreck mid-season.

If INEOS had acted sooner, Amorim might’ve had a transfer window to mold the squad his way United wouldn’t be this rotten. He left Sporting CP, where another Primeira Liga title was in reach, for Old Trafford’s chaos. “They [United] paid above the release clause. I never discussed anything with the [Sporting] president about this bargaining,” he told reporters in November. “The only question I made was only to go at the end of the season.

For three days, I said I wanted to stay until the end of the season. But I was told it was not possible, I was told it was now or never, or Manchester United would go for another option. I had three days to make my decision. The change is radical in my life but I had three days to make this decision.”

That’s guts, not greed. “I know it was a disappointment to the Sporting fans and not take the risk or wait for the end of the season, and then I wouldn’t have the only club I wanted to coach. People say ‘it’s about the money’, but there was another team that wanted to hire me before and they paid three times more than Manchester,” he added.

Amorim ditched comfort for a “very different and very difficult” rebuild hardly the move of a mercenary.

He knew it wouldn’t flip overnight—nobody sane expected instant miracles. United’s latest stumble, a 2-2 draw at Everton, was grim: no shots on target for 70 minutes, trailing 2-0 at halftime.

But a Bruno Fernandes free-kick and a stunning Manuel Ugarte volley clawed back a point small victories in a grim slog. Amorim’s not dodging the mess: “I don’t know. If I knew, I would change it,” he told TNT Sports post-game. “In this moment we need to focus on day by day. We need to survive this season, and then to think ahead.

We have so many problems.” Yet he sees glimmers: “The second half was so much better in the belief. In the end we were near to winning this game.”

Critics harp on his bluntness labeling this squad “the worst in the club’s history”—but compare that to Ten Hag’s rosy delusions after every flop.

Amorim’s not here to coddle; he’s confronting the rot head-on, testing who’s got the spine to fight. That’s the real fix shaking up a decade of meh.

Pundits screamed for a tactical pivot at Everton’s halftime, but Amorim held firm to his 3-4-3. “To stick to the plan, that’s what the manager was very upset with us [about],” Fernandes told TNT Sports. “We have to stick to what our ideas are.” Amorim backed it up: “In training, we continue to do the same.

That’s why in the second half we didn’t change anything, we have to do the same thing, but in a good way.” Stubborn? Maybe. But Ten Hag’s era floundered without a clear identity Amorim’s giving United one, even if it’s rocky now.

He’s taken the heat for a roster gutted by injuries Amad Diallo and Lisandro Martinez out for the season, Kobbie Mainoo down for “weeks,” Luke Shaw and Mason Mount AWOL. Up top, Rasmus Hojlund’s 16-game drought and Joshua Zirkzee’s inconsistency scream for a revamp Amorim didn’t get to shape.

Still, there’s hope: a 2-1 derby win over City, a gutsy 2-2 at Liverpool, a 10-man FA Cup upset over Arsenal. Against Liverpool, his system clicked they just can’t sustain it with this patchwork crew. Give him a real transfer window, not Ten Hag’s leftovers, and watch consistency creep in.

Sack calls already? That’s football’s fickle side showing. Amorim’s not the villain here he’s a brave soul in a bleak gig. Stick with him, and United’s dawn might not be so far off.