BBC claim Ruben Amorim faces defining four-game stretch for Man Utd despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe statement

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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim cannot escape talk over his future, despite winning his last game.

The past international break could have been a very unsettling one for Manchester United.

After losing 3-1 against Brentford, the mood among supporters was low. The following home fixture against Sunderland was a crucial one.

Manchester United made light work of it in the end, winning 2-0 in a surprisingly straightforward home fixture.

But such is the life managing Manchester United, another challenge is always around the corner, and the period of calm has simply placed the debate on his future on pause, instead of postponing it altogether.

Ruben Amorim faces critical stretch

There already appears to be a push to ramp up the pressure on Ruben Amorim after the calm of the international break.

Simon Stone tells BBC Sport that Manchester United’s next four games could ‘shape their season’.

Before the next international break, United face Liverpool (A), Brighton (H), Forest (A) and Tottenham (H).

Ruben Amorim managed three of the four corresponding fixtures last season, where United gained only one point from a possible 12.

He did this in United’s 2-2 draw at Anfield, losing in the fixtures with Brighton and Forest. Erik ten Hag oversaw United’s loss to Tottenham at Old Trafford.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe gave Ruben Amorim long-term backing

There was something very important that happened at the start of the international break. Billionaire investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe gave his total backing to Ruben Amorim.

Ratcliffe told The Business podcast: “Ruben needs to demonstrate he is a great coach over three years, that is where I would be. Three years. Because football is not overnight.”

It’s easy to take Ratcliffe’s comments with a pinch of salt, after Erik ten Hag’s abrupt sacking 12 months ago.

A downturn in results could quickly reset the narrative in another way, especially if the performances are bad.

However, it would make for a calmer situation at Manchester United if the media took Ratcliffe’s comments at face value, and stopped framing every fixture, or run of fixture, as a defining stretch.

You could argue the other way that Amorim has done this to himself with his failure to win back-to-back games over the past year.

When and if he can do that, the clouds may begin to lift. If United could somehow go unbeaten over the next four games, then the calmness we actually crave may become a reality.