Manchester United are back in the market for a new head coach after giving Ruben Amorim his marching orders earlier this week. Ineos are now in the process of identifying the perfect candidate.
It’s been a hectic week at Old Trafford.
Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim as head coach on Monday, just 14 months after hiring the 40-year-old following a successful spell as Sporting CP manager.
Amorim struggled in the Premier League after finishing 15th last season, but there have been improvements this season, with the Red Devils currently seventh in the league standings.
Darren Fletcher has stepped in as caretaker head coach for the foreseeable future. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick are considered strong contenders to get the interim role for the remainder of the 2025/26 campaign.
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In the Scots’ first game in the dugout, United drew 2-2 with Burnley. He will remain in charge for the upcoming FA Cup third round tie against Brighton at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Meanwhile, in the background, United will be working hard on their search for not only an interim head coach but also someone to take the role permanently in the summer.
Man Utd want head coach with Premier League experience
Ineos will be looking to avoid the same mistakes they made when hiring Amorim as head coach.
Football director Jason Wilcox should take most of the responsibility. He was the one who decided Amorim, a back-three fundamentalist, was the right man for United.
Amorim didn’t get the desired results at United, but stubbornly stuck to his preferred system and reacted erratically when Wilcox began to question his tactical approach. This led to a breakdown in the relationship between Wilcox and Amorim, even though they had been on close terms for the majority of the 14 months they spent working together.
Now, Wilcox will play a key role in United’s next steps after dismissing Amorim.
In a recent update on YouTube, Fabrizio Romano suggested that United will want their next permanent head coach to have Premier League experience, following the previous two managers – Erik ten Hag and Amorim – who arrived at the club without that experience.
Romano said: “But remember this point – Premier League experience. Man United also want a manager who can have some kind of Premier League experience in order to make an instant impact.
“They know that they don’t have so much time because the fans have been waiting for a long time to see Man United successful again.
“So in this case, timing is going to be important and I think Premier League experience is going to be one of the key factors in order to decide who is going to be the next Man United head coach.”
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This suggests that Ineos believe Amorim didn’t have enough experience in the Premier League, especially given how naïve he appeared tactically, refusing to adapt to the English game.
Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner is understood to be a top target for the job.
David Moyes and Jose Mourinho arrived at Man Utd with Premier League experience
Only two managers of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era arrived at Old Trafford with Premier League experience.
Ferguson recommended David Moyes as his replacement because he hoped that the fellow Scot would help keep stability at Old Trafford, but he got sacked in his first season.
Moyes didn’t go to plan, but neither did Jose Mourinho, who had won Premier League titles before he became United manager.
The Portuguese coach won two trophies during his time at United, but his best league season came in 2017/18 when the team finished runners-up to Pep Guardiola’s City.
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