Ruben Amorim admits that the ongoing talks between Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United over his future is having an adverse impact on his squad, but insists there has been no player revolt.
The Portuguese coach is widely expected to take over at Old Trafford following Monday’s sacking of Erik ten Hag having quickly emerged as the club’s No1 option, though the deal appears to have been dragging on amid ongoing discussions between the clubs over his exit from the reigning Primeira Liga champions and that of his backroom staff.
United will have to pay a €10million (£8.3m) buyout clause in order to prise Amorim away from the Estadio Jose Alvalade, with Ineos’ head of sport Sir Dave Brailsford telling fans before Wednesday’s Carabao Cup win over Leicester that the deal was done, but reports suggest that a 30-day notice period in his Sporting contract means that the 39-year-old will not be able to officially take the reins until during the November international break.
Sporting’s fixture schedule this week means that Amorim has frequently had to address the media during the course of what he called a “soap opera”, insisting at a press conference held before Friday night’s home Primeira Liga meeting with Estrela da Amadora that everything would finally be resolved after the game.
During Thursday’s packed press call that saw many English journalists travel to Lisbon amid the talks with United, Amorim also addressed the affect that the situation was having on the Sporting players after a fine start to the season that has seen them once again top the Portuguese top-flight as well as reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup with Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Nacional, in which he received an emotional standing ovation from fans.
“I felt the players were different during the meeting because I couldn't say everything was fine, that nobody reads the news or feels anxiety,” Amorim said ahead of the visit of Nacional. “I know my players feel anxiety.
“There was no revolt; I'm capable of handling revolts, and there were revolts when I arrived here with all the problems. There aren't any now. They know me very well. I'm honest with you when I say they weren't themselves.
“Reading the news, I realised they were nervous, anxious. We have a series of very complicated games ahead; it's not going to stay like this. That's why I said it, but there was clearly no revolt. I didn't need [Sporting captain] Morten [Hjulmand] to hold back his team-mates because I handle my problems, and they know me well.”
Several of Sporting’s current backroom staff are expected to follow Amorim to United, including assistants Adelio Candido and Carlos Fernandes, first-team coach Emanuel Ferro, goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital and sports scientist Paulo Barreira.
Reports claimed that talks over their respective compensation fees were also delaying Amorim’s move to Old Trafford, but had now been resolved.
“I think all coaches need (a good backroom staff),” Amorim said of his trusted coaching team on Thursday, per the Daily Mail. “I don’t want to go into too much detail. That was one of the reasons I always wanted to stay here - it was the people I work with.”
