Sky Sports pundit Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has fired back at suggestions Ruben Amorim should quit Manchester United.
A dismal run of inconsistent form has left Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim a haunted man.
Amorim is an emotional coach and after the shock cup exit against Grimsby, he made comments that some interpreted as saying he could walk away.
Just over a month on, Amorim is battling on, but with just two wins from six Premier League games, he is in desperate need of a win.
A loss at home to Sunderland this weekend would be a nightmare for him, and while United may not sack him, Amorim could be tempted to walk.
Amorim told to stay and fight it out
Former Premier League striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was a guest on Sky Sports News, and he was quizzed about Ruben Amorim’s future.
Hasselbaink was asked whether Amorim could quit United in an attempt to save his reputation.
The ex-Chelsea striker blasted the suggestion, arguing that Amorim would only be making matters even worse for himself.
He responded: “That will, I think, make his reputation even worse.
“I think he now needs to stick with it. He needs to try to to get some kind of run and get stability, and the only thing that he can do is win matches that will keep people quiet for now.”
Forgetting United’s recent 2-1 win over his former club Chelsea, Hasselbaink added: “How he’s going to do that? Don’t ask me at the moment. It doesn’t look that they can buy a win.”
Manchester United not creating enough
Hasselbaink delved deeper into United’s problems under Ruben Amorim, and made the argument that the team is not creating enough chances.
He said: “If Fernandes scores the penalty, the game can go in a different direction. But then I would turn it at how many chances did they create? How many opportunities did they create, and how many did they miss?
“If they would have created a lot of chances and missed them, then you can say, ‘you know what, you’re not going to keep on missing them because they are quality players’, but they’re not creating a lot, and that’s my problem.
“That’s my whole thing about it. They are not creating a lot of opportunities for Sesko, for instance, they’re not creating enough, and that, for me, is a big issue.”
As a former striker, Hasselbaink can see the problems Benjamin Sesko is having. The Slovenian has scored just one goal since joining the club.
But this did come in the last game, and if this lifts his confidence, it could make a major difference against Sunderland.
United do have creative players, a surplus of them, but this is not translating into goals. Something has not been clicking.
The best performance of the season arguably came in the opening game against Arsenal where United had more than 20 attempts on goal – but still managed to lose 1-0.
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