Ruben Amorim faces the daunting prospect of facing Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday afternoon and has again been warned it is a prudent move to change his captain.
Amorim’s side have so far lost five of their past six games, with the gaffer himself admitting the team are in a “survival” battle.
With forwards like Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee clearly struggling to score, and with the Marcus Rashford’s future at the club in doubt, a former defender has suggested club record goalscorer Wayne Rooney should be offered a role as a striker coach.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that Amorim questioned Rashford about an alleged post-match night out before banishing him from his matchday squad for a run of matches out before dropping him last month. Rashford started and scored in each of Amorim’s first two matches in charge, including a brace against Everton.
The head coach has also been told to strip Bruno Fernandes of the captaincy and restore it to Harry Maguire instead, despite the latter’s reign at United continuing to falter.
The Red Devils have lost their last four games in all competitions, conceding 11 goals in the process. One of those defeats was to struggling Wolves, during which skipper Fernandes was sent off after picking up two yellow cards.
This was the third time the Portuguese has picked up a red card this season, leaving him open to fresh scrutiny on his position as captain. Lisandro Martinez was handed the armband for the defeat to Newcastle in Fernandes’ absence. Amorim was told to give Maguire a second chance as captain.
On the goalscoring front, Wayne Rooney may only be out of work five days after being sacked by Plymouth Argyle as a former team-mate has suggested that United’s record goalscorer be made an offer as a striker coach.
Plymouth called an end to Rooney’s time in charge on New Year’s Eve after nine games without a win. He had been in charge for just seven months and leaves with the club bottom of the Championship table.Rooney has already been linked with big-money offers to become a regular television pundit but Wes Brown believes a specialist role would suit Rooney down to the ground, while Ruben Amorim’s team continue to struggle in front of goal.
“If Wayne wanted to spend time as a striking coach he would be absolutely brilliant at it, he was one of the best goalscorers we’ve ever seen and was a top playmaker as well,” Brown told The Sports Daily.