If he wasn't handsome - Carragher reveals why Man U WON'T sack Amorim despite 'horrendous' results

Jamie Carragher has offered a rather unusual explanation for why Manchester United boss Rúben Amorim is still clinging onto his job at Old Trafford, despite the club’s poor start to the season.

The Red Devils have picked up just one win in their opening four games of the season, including an embarrassing defeat to Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup.

The ex-Liverpool defender suggested Amorim’s good looks and charismatic presence in press conferences are the only things saving him from the sack.

Carragher did not hold back in his verdict.

 “He’s great in the press conferences but because he’s not winning it’s like, ‘shut up’,” the 46-year-old pundit declared while speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate.

“If he was winning we’d all be saying, ‘what a character’. I actually look at it and think if Amorim wasn’t so charismatic in the press conference, if he wasn’t such a good-looking man, he might have actually lost his job a lot earlier. When you look at the results, they are horrendous.”

Carragher went further, comparing Amorim unfavourably to managerial heavyweights past and present. 

“There is now a big clamour to get José Mourinho back in English football and the reason is because he’s box office,” he said.

 “We always remember Brian Clough – when he was speaking you’d listen because he was a winner.

"To think Amorim has all the answers when there are managers like Unai Emery and Eddie Howe, who aren’t even going for the league but are more experienced, it’s tough to see him turning it around.”

The statistics hardly flatter the Portuguese coach.

United finished a dismal 15th in the Premier League last season, lost the  Europa League final against Tottenham, and started the new campaign in equally bleak fashion. 

Defeat at home to Arsenal was followed by a draw at Fulham, before being capped off by a humiliating Carabao Cup penalty shootout defeat to League Two minnows Grimsby Town.

Even Saturday’s narrow win over newly-promoted Burnley came courtesy of a last-minute penalty, hardly the performance to inspire confidence among supporters or critics.

If results have painted him in a poor light, Amorim’s raw honesty has only deepened the scrutiny. 

Following the Grimsby defeat, Amorim delivered a damning assessment: “I think this is a little bit the limit. I think something has to change. The best team won, the only team that was on the pitch. We were completely lost.”

INEOS remain outwardly supportive, but the next two fixtures could define Amorim’s tenure. 

After the international break, United travel to the Etihad for the Manchester derby on 14 September before hosting Chelsea a week later. 

Failure to take points from either clash could see the manager’s fate sealed, regardless of charisma or looks.