Amorim's jumbled United are flirting with the drop

It normally takes two years for a Manchester United manager’s reign to descend into crisis. It has only taken two months for Ruben Amorim to reach that point.

- RICHARD JOLLY

A fifth defeat in six league games prompted the head coach who left Sporting CP second in the Champions League to warn that United are at risk of dropping into the Championship. This might be a relegation battle. “It is one of the worst moments in the history of our club, and we have to accept that,” he said.

“I think our club needs a shock.” This is what they are getting. This may be the worst kind of shock therapy. Erik ten Hag seemed to redefine rock bottom for United by finishing eighth last season, but it gets lower.

When United sacked the Dutchman, it was in part because they thought they might be able to qualify for the Champions League. But they were 14th then and 14th now. They could be 15th before they play again. They are 13 points from the top four, seven from the bottom three. They are in poorer form than most of the strugglers and stragglers.

Since Amorim arrived, only Leicester and Southampton have taken fewer points. But for the Amad Diallo-inspired comeback in the Manchester derby, it would be six straight league losses. Newcastle only won 2-0 at Old Trafford but it might have been many more. The gulf between teams who finished side by side in the table in the last two seasons is now wider than the gap between Casemiro and Eriksen.

Perhaps it falls upon Amorim to prick United's bubble of delusion. He joined the club with "Project 150", the stated aim of winning the league by 2028. Unless that league is the Football League, they won’t. Amorim walked away from the prospect of a league title, his third. When he was lured from Sporting, they had a 100 per cent record in the Portuguese league for one.