´I came here to be the manager´ – Amorim hits back at claims of friction at Man Utd

Ruben Amorim hit back at rumours that he does not have full control at Manchester United, claiming he “came here to be the manager”.

United came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Leeds United at Elland Road on Sunday, with Matheus Cunha cancelling out Brenden Aaronson’s strike.

The Red Devils have drawn seven games this season, with six of those coming in their last 11 matches (W3 L2).

However, after the match, Amorim, who was named the club’s head coach when he was appointed last season, was again asked about comments he made prior to Christmas about his style of play and transfer budgets.

Asked if he still feels he has the backing of the board, Amorim was keen to clarify that there was no friction behind the scenes at the club.

“I notice that you receive selective information about everything,” he said.

“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear.

“I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it’s not [Jose] Mourinho, it’s not [Antonio] Conte, but I’m the manager of Manchester United, and it’s going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change.

“I’m not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is here to replace me.

“I just want to say I’m going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. I was really clear on that.

“That is going to finish in 18 months, and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal. That is my job, not to be a coach.

“If people cannot handle the Gary Nevilles and the criticisms of everything, we need to change the club.

“I just want to say that I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not just the coach. Every department – the scouting department, the sport director – needs to do their job for 18 months, then we move on.”

United had 15 shots against Leeds, but only hit the target with two of those, with Cunha also having a first-half goal disallowed and rattling the post with a late chance for a winner.

Amorim’s side have now lost just one of their last eight matches in the Premier League, though missed the chance to leapfrog Liverpool into the top four.

On the game itself, Amorim was pleased with the threat his team showed but admitted there are still things they need to improve if they want to challenge for the Champions League places.

“Overall, if you see the game, we had more control,” he told BBC Sport.

“We created more chances, we controlled well, so if you look at the game, you feel the frustration that we had the chance to win. It is a tough match in tough conditions.

“The game plan was to understand what we did wrong against Wolves. We improved a lot because we were in the right positions. We improved from the last game.

“It’s strange because they started a little bit better in the second half. When we are in control, we need to be focused on every detail. We know against West Ham, we are in control, then one disconnection, there was a goal. We need to be connected all the time.

“We managed to control our emotions and to score the next goal, and we had a big chance. I think we deserved a little better, but it’s okay.”