WELL, it could be worse for Ruben Amorim… he could be back in Portugal.
According to the Manchester United boss, the abuse in his homeland is much worse than here.
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Amorim, who moved from Lisbon with his wife and two sons after landing the United job in November, said: “We love to live in England.
“You have no idea what abuse is here because you are so polite compared to my country when we are losing! So you have no idea.
“I am really happy here and so is my family. I just hate losing and I hate failing.”
Amorim also hates criticism of his system and, ahead of Saturday’s Old Trafford date with in-form Sunderland, he admitted that the prospect of his players maybe thinking his infamous 3-4-3 formation is the club’s problem drives him “crazy”.
One immortal line in the movie Mike Bassett England Manager is: “Ladies and gentlemen, England will be playing four-four-f***ing-two.”
Bassett delivers it at a press conference and it would be quite the introduction if the next United boss quotes Ricky Tomlinson’s cult character.
In recent United history, the use of a back three has either been a means to an end or as a stop-gap.
However mythical the ‘United way’ is, it is a club that is — or was — famed for its wingers for the best part of a century.
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In Amorim’s system, the wingers are full-backs.
Back in February last year, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe promised that the United hierarchy would decide the style the coach plays.
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With Amorim’s appointment, that was flipped.
Remarkably, the 40-year-old Portuguese coach is adamant United have NOT been starting matches with a defensive trio.
He claimed: “There is no back three. Against Brentford, lately we play with Luke Shaw, two centre-backs and a right-back.
“They play in a different type of position in the beginning. So it is not three centre-backs.
“It is the same thing with a little bit different positions.
“Against Brentford, second half, it was like a 4-4-2. The problem is that we were not good with the ball, we were soft without the ball . . . and we lose.”
Despite investing more than £250million on six signings since Amorim arrived, a glance at the squad suggests United are more suited to a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3.
Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu are specialist full-backs, Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt are a decent defensive duo while Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro have form as a midfield partnership.
OUT OF SHAPE
Bryan Mbeumo is a natural right-winger, Matheus Cunha has operated from the left, Bruno Fernandes is an out-and-out playmaker and Benjamin Sesko a pure striker.
The shape Amorim swears by is not as much of a problem at kick-off — but it is in-game.
Mason Mount, a scorer at Brentford in the past two seasons, had no chance of making it a hat-trick as he came on as the square peg in a round hole on the left wing at the GTech as United crashed 3-1 seven days ago.
Joshua Zirkzee, without a goal in the Premier League since December 1, occupied one of the two playmaker roles, while Mbeumo shifted to the right.
Mbeumo won United their penalty through playing centrally and is a superior forward.
Micah Richards seriously claimed on Match of the Day that Amorim “doesn’t have the personnel” for his system. He does.
Amorim has promoted the jittery Altay Bayindir, to be his No 1 keeper, sanctioned Harry Maguire’s one-year contract extension and billed Shaw as “world-class”.
De Ligt has played his best football for United under Amorim, while Diogo Dalot is in the new leadership group and Dorgu was the first signing of the Amorim era.
It is not the system. It is the small details, the way we play the game
Ruben Amorim
Manuel Ugarte played for Amorim at Sporting, Fernandes has switched to midfield under his compatriot while the attacking trio of Mbeumo, Cunha and Sesko were signed in the summer for more than £200m.
Amorim wanted a more experienced keeper but jettisoned Andre Onana and has staunchly defended the hapless Turk Bayindir, whose hologram hands allowed Mathias Jensen to score Brentford’s clinching third goal.
Amorim has seen off big players and big egos in his 11 months at United. So, unsurprisingly, none of the current squad are daring to suggest a switch to a back four.
Amorim said: “Is it the media that is going to dictate what I am going to do? It cannot be. It is not possible to sustain that.
“And then the players. I can talk with the players, I talk with the players every day. But I explain point by point what is happening with our team.
“So again, it is not a 3-4-3 all the time. People are thinking about the system. I think we need to look to all of the parts of the game.
“This team play in a different system for many years and you are talking about the lack of identity, no idea, whatever. So it is not the system. It is the small details, the way we play the game.
“And I understand what people think, what would this team be in a different system? I don’t know. Maybe this team would win more games.
“But we are not going to win titles by changing formation to a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2.”
Neither did Mike Bassett.