Sir Alex Ferguson's Man Utd advice backfired with Ruben Amorim sending two-word message

Sir Alex Ferguson urged Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to 'stay positive' after a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Brighton, but the Scot's advice has sometimes backfired on managers in the past. The Red Devils, currently in 13th place in the Premier League, have struggled to find form under Amorim's leadership.

The Portuguese boss has managed just six wins in 14 matches in charge. Ferguson, who was in attendance at Old Trafford for Sunday's match, gave his advice during pre-match tributes to the late Denis Law, who sadly passed away last week aged 84. “Stay positive” was the message relayed this time by Ferguson, as Amorim confirmed to BBC Radio 5 Live.

But Ferguson's advice didn't always have the desired effect, as former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discovered in 2021 when his team's selections – regarding Cristiano Ronaldo – were criticized by the Scottish icon.

In 2021, with Ronaldo having just made a sensational return to Old Trafford and Solskjaer still in charge, the Red Devils struggled to find form as they prepared to host Everton, reports the Mirror. The decision to bench Ronaldo for the match raised eyebrows, including from Ferguson, who was filmed saying: “you should always start with your best players”, during a conversation with the legend of UFC Khabib Nurmagomedov on Instagram. Ferguson also suggested the Toffees would have been encouraged “when they saw Ronaldo wasn't playing”.

The match ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw, with Ronaldo visibly angry as he left the field after only being substituted in the 57th minute. After the match, Solskjaer found himself justifying his choice amid thinly veiled criticism from Ferguson, indicating that such advice had not had the desired positive effect.

“You make decisions throughout a very long season,” Solskjaer admitted. “You have to manage the workload of the players, and it was… the decision was, for me, the right one.”

However, after a month, Solskjaer found himself unemployed. Reflecting on Ronaldo's dilemma and Ferguson's contribution, it became clear that the legendary former manager's influence might not always be beneficial since he left office at United.

Ferguson himself has remained rather silent on the Amorim situation, perhaps because he was sacked from his multi-million pound ambassador role at Old Trafford. The move was part of cost-cutting measures taken by Sir Jim Ratcliffe in October. It now remains to be seen whether Ferguson's advice this time will help turn United's fortunes around, unlike his advice aimed at Solskjaer four years ago.

But something needs to be done at Manchester as Amorim admits this current team could be the 'worst' in United's history.

“In [the past] “10 games in the Premier League, we won two,” admitted Amorim after the Brighton defeat. “Imagine what it's like for a Manchester United fan. Imagine what it's like for me. We have a new manager who is losing more than the previous manager. I am well aware of that. We are perhaps the worst team in Manchester United history.