Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has insisted that boss Ruben Amorim is under pressure, who retorted by claiming the midfielder wants his job, in a jovial and upbeat press conference ahead of the Europa League final on Wednesday.
The pressure was never supposed to be on Amorim at such an early stage in his tenure at Old Trafford.
However, after the difficult start he has endured so far - he has overseen just six Premier League wins in 26 attempts - the Portuguese manager finds his position under threat.
He has a huge chance on Wednesday night to set the record right and lay some solid foundations for his project moving forward, with his side’s Europa League final clash against fellow Premier League strugglers Tottenham Hotspur.
Ruben Amorim's side face Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final on Wednesday night
Reuters
It would be fair to assume the pre-match press conference would be tense and spiky, a bit like Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou’s press conference earlier on.
However, it was far from. Amorim was joined by Fernandes and defender Harry Maguire, and the trio were in high spirits ahead of the crucial match.
Amorim was asked why he was not under as much pressure as his counterpart, Ange Postecoglou.
Fernandes, however, was quick to interject, insisting: “He is! Who told you he’s not? Because he is.”
Bruno Fernandes jokingly claimed his boss Ruben Amorim was under pressure
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Amorim responded with a laugh, followed by: “He [Fernandes] wants my job! He will be a very good coach, but he has to work on his mindset, [he] doesn’t know how to deal with people.”
The interaction typified the general feeling in the room: calm and relaxed, which was almost the polar opposite of Postecoglou’s.
The comedic tone continued, too, as Harry Maguire jokingly reflected on his attacking influence in the semi-final against Athletic Bilbao: "The manager has me dribbling every day in training up and down the wing!
“No, I found myself on the wing against Bilbao and managed to put a good cross in and Casa [Casemiro] scored the goal.”
Despite the positivity, Amorim was not afraid to shift the mood in a frank manner: “There are a lot of things we need to change in our club.
"The way we do everything during the week in Carrington, the recruitment, the academy I think we need to improve.
"It's hard to point one thing. That will not be solved by winning a cup. I will say it again, for me, we have bigger things to deal with to put this club back to the top.”
Maguire was also keen to address concerns in their contrasting form domestically and continentally: "We haven't won enough, in the Premier League, it's not been good enough.
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Harry Maguire said Manchester United 'have not won enough' in the Premier League this season
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“Europa League has been different, we have performed at a high level, and we have proven that we can beat anybody.
"I am sure next season we will improve an awful amount. As players we are all looking forward to that but we have got a big game tomorrow night, and that's first and foremost.”
Wednesday’s final will be played in Bilbao, where Manchester United recorded a thumping 3-0 victory in the semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.
Despite the fact Spurs have beaten Man United on all three occasions they have faced each other this year, the atmosphere at both conferences seemed worlds apart ahead of both managers’ first real chance at silverware in England.
