Ruben Amorim’s brutal hammerings are winning over Man Utd fans and media

AFTER the 3-1 home defeat by Brighton ten days ago, Ruben Amorim labelled his side “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United”.

Having accidentally trashed a TV in the dressing room minutes earlier, he then told the assembled press pack: “I know you want headlines... here you go, your headlines.”

At Craven Cottage on Sunday, Amorim decided to give us more headlines — and he upped the ante substantially.

Criticising Marcus Rashford’s workrate in training would have provided a decent-enough soundbite.

But by claiming he would rather select his 63-YEAR-OLD goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital than a player who didn’t show full commitment, Amorim conjured the most inflammatory managerial quote of the season.

Given that Vital last played a quarter of a century ago for the third-tier Portuguese club Esposende, we can assume Amorim wasn’t being literal and knew full well that he was creating another firestorm.

United are England’s highest-profile club and Rashford — who hasn’t played since December 12 — is one of their biggest names. Yet here was his manager openly mocking him with a quote which bordered on cruelty.

This is a high-risk strategy. It’s often said, and is largely true, that Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t publicly criticise his own players, although he did ruthlessly bomb out several of his best.

Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag binned Cristiano Ronaldo early in his reign, then froze out Jadon Sancho.

And while these moves were widely seen as an admirable attempt to root out ‘bad apples’ and change a rotten culture, Ten Hag never possessed the force of personality to make this approach a long-term success.

Many United players felt his ‘hardman routine’ was an unconvincing act. With Amorim, it seems more authentic. The Portuguese possesses charisma and won’t be condemned as a fake by his players.

Yet as elite players grow ever less accustomed to being called out, Amorim’s words will have shocked the dressing room. The collective criticism after the Brighton defeat was damning but this stinging rebuke of Rashford was personal.

Rashford’s reputation has plummeted on and off the field over 18 months but he retains many friends among United’s squad — as did 24-year-old Sancho when Ten Hag went for him.

Amorim blamed Rashford’s PR advisors when he gave a surprising interview six weeks ago, stating he was “ready for a new challenge” away from Old Trafford.

And the forward is currently pursuing a loan move to Barcelona, yet may be priced out of that, even though he is apparently willing to take a hefty cut to his £325,000 weekly pay packet.

A permanent summer transfer now seems highly likely and would suit both Rashford, 27, and Amorim,  although the manager’s public criticism will not do wonders for the Red Devils’ asking price.

According to those who know him in Portugal, Amorim doesn’t genuinely relish media duties in the manner of his compatriot Jose Mourinho.

He does, though, fully understand how to use the media to influence the narrative around himself and his club.

And Amorim recognises he is currently in a position of personal strength. United are terrible.

They were terrible before Amorim arrived, they were terrible against Brighton and they were terrible in the 1-0 victory over Fulham, which was probably the most terrible game of Premier League football this season.

And yet while part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was slaughtered from the away end on Sunday, Amorim’s name rang out in songs of praise, because United’s hardcore supporters realise he represents the club’s best hope.

If fans believe they have been coughing up hard-earned money to watch a bloke on a £17million salary who isn’t showing full dedication, they will fully appreciate the manager berating him.

And let’s put our cards on the table here — in the written media, we love juicy post-match quotes from managers.

There are fewer and fewer quotable bosses in the  Premier League, with Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham a rare exception.

In such a vacuum, less entertaining quotes are occasionally ‘revved up’ a little — my personal favourite being an article which started with the words Claude Puel last night roared...

Even though former Southampton and Leicester boss Puel never spoke above a whisper and was believed to be audible only to bats.

Media interviews can mean more to a manager’s reputation, and job security, than they probably should.

And by giving the media what they want, Amorim will be cut more slack by those who cover United on a daily basis than Ten Hag, whose press conferences became exercises in blood-from-stone extraction.

Amorim celebrated his 40th birthday after three wins from United’s last four matches  — not that they have played particularly well in any of them.

After the Fulham game, match-winner Lisandro Martinez revealed: “He’s going to do ‘the tunnel’  with players on either side slapping him.”

This is a modern-day take on getting ‘the bumps’  and we might assume Rashford used the opportunity to give his boss an extra hard smack.

But while Amorim is playing a ballsy, high-stakes game in his treatment of the player, this is a calculated approach.

Win or bust in the long term, Old Trafford’s firestarter is not going to die wondering.