Man Utd sent Ruben Amorim sack message as claim about 'dressing room fights' made

Rio Ferdinand has thrown his support behind Ruben Amorim at Manchester United and urged fans to stay positive. The ex-Red Devils defender hopes some harsh words were exchanged and fines dished out following the club's FA Cup exit to Grimsby Town .

Following their unfortunate opening Premier League defeat to Arsenal , many anticipated a transformed United squad, boosted by the arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko , would build on their 15th-place finish from the previous campaign. Yet Amorim's troops have struggled from the off, with alarm bells ringing after their 1-1 stalemate with Fulham .

Days following that outcome, in what proved a monumental shock, they crashed out of the FA Cup on spot-kicks to Grimsby . Come Saturday, a 97th-minute Bruno Fernandes spot-kick spared them from another deflating display, as they edged past Burnley 3-2 , temporarily silencing speculation about boss Amorim facing the axe.

Ferdinand, who turned out 455 times for the Red Devils, weighed in on demands for Amorim's dismissal prior to the Burnley encounter. Whilst he called for confrontation in the changing room, jokingly admitting he'd expect some financial penalties, the 46-year-old firmly backed Amorim and stayed hopeful about the Portuguese boss's reign.

"I'm hoping that in the changing room, he [Amorim] has had some choice words with those players, someone's been strangled, someone's been put in a headlock, someone's been fined," Ferdinand began, speaking on his Rio Ferdinand Presents channel.

"I'd like to think there's been some really, really solid hard conversations had, almost fights. I don't mind a fight, have one. Because I think moments like that, when it's on edge, when emotions are running high, when people are feeling embarrassed.

"There's been a lot of people talking, saying 'Oh, Ruben Amorim, give him the sack now.' Before a ball was kicked, everyone was optimistic, and I'm the same. Optimistic and hopeful. I'm hopeful that we're gonna improve.

"You can't sack someone after three games; it doesn't make sense," he continued, speaking before the Burnley win. "You've allowed them to invest in three new strikers, and you're going to say after three games, when they're not even fully fit, that you're going to sack someone.

"It doesn't make sense to me. I don't see INEOS doing that. No way. I can't see it. They're more sensible than that. There are emotional people who pay good, hard-earned money who deserve to be entertained and deserve better performances and results. I get that.

"We all feel like that. But let's not be stupid. Let's not jump on the bandwagon and start getting all emotional about it, and say 'Right, I'm gonna start a vendetta.'

"Yes, there have been bad results, but when you try to turn things around at football clubs, especially one the size of Manchester United, that's been in turmoil and on a downward spiral for many years now, 10 or 12 years, do you think it's going to take six months or a year to turn that around? No. If we just keep changing managers every six months or every year, it's going to be the same thing for the next twenty years."

Plenty have questioned Amorim's approach and relentless deployment of attacking wing-backs, but Ferdinand refuses to accept any criticism of the manager's reluctance to alter his formation, as he continued: "The formation has been an issue for a lot of people. 'Should there be some flexibility in that?'

"But this manager will tell you, 'Yeah, we may start with three at the back. But there are moments in the game that we are playing four at the back, and we're shifting round.' It changes in terms of shape in and out of possession.

"I think you've got to allow the club to go through a period of pain if we feel there's a chance to get through the other side, and you're gonna see some sunlight. If you're allowing the manager to spend the money that we have, allowing him to let people go, then there has to be an element of patience through turmoil, and that's where we are right now."

After a challenging few days, Amorim's squad managed to finish the week positively following a narrow three-point haul against Burnley. Despite relinquishing a one-goal advantage on two occasions, Fernandes rose to the occasion in the final moments to convert the decisive penalty and secure the club's maiden triumph of the campaign 3-2.

Nevertheless, one negative aspect was the setback to Matheus Cunha . The Brazilian was substituted during the opening exchanges with what appeared to be a hamstring problem, though the severity of his condition remains unclear. Following the final whistle, Amorim expressed his worry regarding the striker's fitness issue, reports the Manchester Evening News .

"It was hard to lose a player like Cunha and Mason Mount - Mount played like 30 minutes with an injury," the United boss revealed. When questioned whether these were lengthy concerns, he responded: "I don't know, I don't know but I'm concerned about that. They are so important for us, so we'll see."

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