‘Open’ Southgate outlines how long he’d need to turn around ‘completely drained’ Man Utd

Gareth Southgate fears that Man Utd wouldn’t give him the four years he’d need to make the Red Devils contenders again, according to reports.

The Red Devils have really struggled to get any kind of consistency going since Ruben Amorim took over from Erik ten Hag towards the beginning of last season.

Amorim has accumulated just over one point per game on average in the Premier League since replacing Ten Hag and there are rumours that a defeat to Sunderland at the weekend could be a tipping point for the Man Utd hierarchy.

Numerous managers have already been linked to the job if Man Utd decided to sack Amorim with Brighton’s Fabian Hurzeler, Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Fulham’s Marco Silva and former England boss Southgate.

Some members of the Man Utd board are understood to be big fans of Southgate’s work but The Sun newspaper insists that the former England boss ‘fears he would not be given the time to transform Manchester United into a force again if he became their next manager.’

Southgate is ‘open’ to the role at Old Trafford if Man Utd decide to sack Amorim but he is ‘concerned United would demand instant success’.

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The report continues: ‘And well-placed sources say boyhood United fan Southgate believes it could take up to four years to make United contenders in the Champions League.

‘The former England manager would require assurances that the United hierarchy stick to any long-term plan they map out.’

Joanne Pearson from British Lie Detector Test UK insists that the current Man Utd squad “look completely drained” under Amorim’s guidance.

Pearson told the Daily Star: “From a behavioural perspective, Manchester United look completely drained. The non-verbal signals – dropped shoulders, limited eye contact, forced smiles – all point to a squad that is not just physically tired, but mentally fraying at the edges.

“When players begin to show defensive language and emotional withdrawal, it often signals deeper concerns: lack of belief in tactics, leadership, or simply exhaustion from relentless pressure.”

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Former Chelsea star Gus Poyet reckons the numerous appointments since Sir Alex Ferguson’s time in charge at Old Trafford means it has been “confirmed that the problem is not the coaches”.

Poyet told the Daily Mirror: “I saw him, especially the last two games, I saw his interviews and you can feel that [he’s frustrated].

“You know, it’s bad, the situation. But I’m not going to try to be the defending…the judge of the coaches, or the lawyer of the coaches. But Manchester United is confirmed – after Ruben Amorim, it is confirmed that the problem is not the coaches.

“I’m sorry. Okay, I know it sounds too defensive from the coaches. But when you have six, seven, eight, forget it. Because you have all the characteristics of coaches.”

Poyet added: “And one of the biggest things I would say to people in England is stop comparing Man Utd with Alex Ferguson’s Man Utd. It’s gone, it’s finished, it’s over.

“That was a great time for them. They enjoyed [it], they had an unbelievable club, an unbelievable coach. Finished, see you later. You cannot be the same forever. You cannot, it’s impossible. Because things change. And they try with the coaches and it’s not working with the coaches.

“So they need to go a little bit deeper maybe. Because I have to be realistic and say that it doesn’t matter who you take now. It doesn’t matter. That is not the solution, okay.

“They can do a little bit better, yeah, but the situation here is not to do a little bit better. It’s unfortunately changing systems, changing players, mentality, you know, it doesn’t work.”

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