Manchester United are 15th in the Premier League table ahead of their final three league games against West Ham United, Chelsea and Aston Villa, and head coach Ruben Amorim cannot wait for next season to begin as he looks to hit the ground running in his first full season in charge of the Red Devils.
Xavi Hernandez – one of the managerial candidates the Old Trafford club considered before appointing the Portuguese – is keeping tabs on how things are going at Man United and is convinced the players are fighting for their head coach despite their domestic struggles.
The former Barcelona boss was only viewed as a temporary option until the end of the season when Erik ten Hag was fired last October, but it was something he was not open to.
“I know Manchester United has a difficult year but I can see what Ruben Amorim is trying to do,” Xavi told The Athletic.
“He’s at the start of his project but I see one thing, that the players are fighting for him. And that is so important.
“They run for the team. Simeone – whether you like his style or not, his players will run and fight for him. He has a team. And if you have a team you have a chance.”
Most managers love to take charge of a new team during the off-season so as to have enough time to prepare them ahead of a new season, but Man United managed to convince Amorim to leave Sporting CP and were insistent despite him floating the idea of moving at the end of the season.
Things have not gone as both parties would have anticipated, but the Red Devils will back their head coach this summer and expect him to deliver the goods going forward.
Amorim has the chance to win the Europa League this season, and failure to do so could put him under huge pressure heading into 2025-26.
Man United have struggled since Sir Alex Ferguson left the club after announcing his retirement on this day in 2013, and the Portuguese needs to quickly prove he is the one to lead them back to the pinnacle of English and European football before the board starts identifying potential replacements.
