Despite his poor start, Ruben Amorim still appears to possess the traits Sir Alex Ferguson desires in a Manchester United boss.
Amorim, 40, takes his faltering United side to Goodison Park on Saturday in a bid to end a run of two consecutive Premier League defeats. The Red Devils are currently 15th in the table, having lost eight of Amorim's first 14 domestic matches as United head coach.
But while positive results have been hard to come by for the ex-Sporting Lisbon manager, Amorim does appear to have the very traits Ferguson demands in any United boss. The legendary Scot's list may be the clearest indication that Amorim could yet succeed at Old Trafford.
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In his book 'Leading', which was published in 2015, Ferguson detailed the traits he demands for every United manager. His list was in the context of the Scot's decision to identify David Moyes as the manager to take over at Old Trafford upon his retirement back in 2013.
Ferguson wrote: "We chose David Moyes. He had been consistent in his job at Everton, had a good spell there – 11 years and showed appetite."
Many top managers have struggled in the post-Ferguson era, with Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag having all come and gone over the past decade.
And despite the brutal start to life at United, the traits mentioned by Ferguson are all present in Amorim. Before his move to Manchester, Amorim rejected numerous offers to leave Sporting and only left when United knocked at the door in his fourth season in charge – a long time by today's footballing standards – to present him with a huge opportunity that many would have struggled to turn down.
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Amorim was also consistent at Sporting, toppling the usual Portuguese winners Benfica and Porto to win two Primeira Liga titles in four years and never failing to finish below fourth. In addition, while his results have been questioned, Amorim's hunger has been clear for all to see.
His brutally honest press conferences and the way in which he banished Marcus Rashford, citing the United academy graduate's performances in training, demonstrate his demands for players to always be up to his levels.
Nevertheless, those traits did not rescue Moyes from the sack. The Scotsman was dismissed after only 10 months with the club sat in seventh position at the time. Similarly, Amorim's mental traits, as admirable as they may be to Ferguson, are not yielding results. United are still 15th and Amorim only has four Premier League victories to date.
One rare positive from Amorim's campaign so far is that there is still a route into the Champions League. United recently finished third in the Europa League qualification table, meaning they have moved straight into the last 16. Victory in the competition – that they are current favourites for – will grant them a passage into next season's Champions League.
They are also still in the FA Cup, which would see them qualify for the Europa League, should they get all the way to Wembley and be victorious for a second successive year. Either way, Amorim is in desperate need for a boost in the Premier League. He hopes that will come on the blue side of Merseyside, where he will be pitted against Moyes – the very manager Ferguson hand-picked.
Unlike Amorim, Moyes has had a brilliant start since he returned to Goodison Park. After losing his first match against Aston Villa, Moyes has since put together a run of four wins and one draw, the latter of which being the dramatic 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. The Toffees have even overtaken United in the table, as their recent 2-1 away victory over Crystal Palace saw them move into 14th.
