Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has acknowledged that Dan Ashworth’s unexpected departure is “not the ideal situation” but expressed confidence that the club’s vision remains intact and unaffected.
Ashworth’s resignation as sporting director, which came after just 159 days in the role, was confirmed on Sunday.
Addressing the media for the first time since Ashworth’s exit, Amorim previewed the team’s upcoming Europa League clash against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.
“The first thing I want to say is that, since the first day, I felt great support from the ownership,” said Amorim, who took charge on 11 November.
“From Omar [Berrada, chief executive], from Dan also, from Jason [Wilcox, technical director]. Dan was part of that, and I felt support from Dan too.
“But this is football and sometimes these things hhappen It happens with players, with coaches.
“I know that it’s not the best situation but the important thing is we continue in our way. The path is really clear for everybody and I think this can happen in football.”
Asked if he is concerned whether United are more unstable than when he arrived, Amorim added: “I don’t think so. I’ve felt since day one the support from everybody, so one person leaving dodoesn’t change anything”Of course, it’s a bad situation, because we are talking about a human being, a professional, that supports us as a team.
“But I think the most important thing is that your vision is really clear and that vision doesn’t change if only one person leaves.”
Reports have suggested that Manchester United may need to offload players before making additions to the squad during the January transfer window.
When asked about the situation, head coach Ruben Amorim responded: “No, my focus is entirely on evaluating and understanding my players. I believe that is one of the challenges the club faces.”
“We have to focus on what we have. We have to focus on the academy and also have a clear profile when you get the players, so it’s a lot of details you have to manage.
“You can see at set-pieces, sometimes you look at our team and we are a small team compared to others.
“Every detail counts and we have to be very clear first in the profiles, arrange all the processes, and then go to that phase of buying and selling players.”
Several players are still getting used to the club having been signed by Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag in the summer, while Netherlands left-back Tyrell Malacia has just returned from knee surgery to make his first Premier League start since May 2023.
“We have, like Ty, international players, good players, and we need time to teach them our ideas and then we will see because this is a massive club,” added Amorim.
“We have to arrange a lot of things in our club before thinking just about buying or selling players.
“There’s a lot to do, so let’s focus on improving our players, improving our academy, and then see.”