Gareth Southgate breaks silence on Ruben Amorim sacking by wading into head coach debate with statement Ineos will love

Gareth Southgate weighs in on the debate over head coach vs manager after a rant from Ruben Amorim led to his dismissal at Manchester United.

The mood is low at Manchester United. After a topsy-turvy first half to the season, Ruben Amorim was sacked, with Michael Carrick appointed head coach until the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Darren Fletcher stood in as caretaker head coach for two matches while United chiefs, including football director Jason Wilcox, settled on their preferred candidate to try to steady the ship at Old Trafford between now and the summer.

How will YOU remember Ruben Amorim? What is his LEGACY at Man Utd?

United are winless in their last four matches, which includes a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup third round. That means Carrick only has 17 games in charge of the team, with all of them in the Premier League, as Champions League qualification remains a ‘crucial’ objective.

Interestingly, Carrick’s title doesn’t reference ‘interim’, but he is only expected to hold the head coach role until the summer, when a permanent appointment will be made.

Gareth Southgate explains why head coaches now exist over managers

In November 2024, Amorim arrived at United from Sporting CP.

Amorim had won two league titles in Portugal as a back-three fundamentalist before becoming the man Wilcox thought would steer United in the right direction.

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However, when given the job, Amorim was announced as the new ‘head coach’ rather than ‘manager’.

It was 14 months later that it became an issue for Amorim, who made it clear in a press conference at Elland Road that he did not appreciate the watered-down job title.

The former United head coach stressed that he was a manager and not a head coach after being questioned about his ability to manage the club. He was dismissed less than 24 hours later.

“I notice that you receive selective information about everything,” Amorim told reporters.

“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear.”

Former England manager and Ineos favourite, Gareth Southgate, has given his thoughts on the head coach vs manager debate, after publishing an article on LinkedIn.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos chiefs at United will love the argument Southgate put forward as it shows he has no problem with the evolution of head coaches.

Southgate explains that it has been a gradual process, accelerated with the introduction of sporting directors and other key figures.

“The erosion of a Manager’s authority has been a gradual process over many years,” Southgate wrote.

“It has accelerated with the widespread introduction of Football, Technical, or Sporting Directors, who now oversee long-term football strategy, report directly to CEOs or owners (or both), and sit structurally above the Head Coach.

“Personally, I have no issue with this evolution.

“Strategy, culture, planning, and continuity are critical to success in any organisation — and a football club is no different. A Head Coach neither has the time nor, in many cases, the specialist expertise to manage complex player contracts, oversee global scouting networks, or run sophisticated data operations. Equally, it makes little sense to dismantle medical or sports science departments every time there is a change of Head Coach.”

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Gareth Southgate has new connection at Man Utd

Although Southgate has never been a popular candidate among fans for the United job, there is no denying that the former Middlesbrough manager is a trusted associate of Ratcliffe and Ineos.

United In Focus understands that Southgate regularly keeps in contact with the Director of Sport at Ineos, Sir David Brailsford; however, the cycling expert is no longer involved in the running of the football club.

Now, Southgate has another connection working at United, as part of Carrick’s backroom staff.

Carrick’s backroom staff includes Steve Holland as his assistant, who served Southgate in the same role with the England national team. It remains to be seen if Southgate will be considered for the permanent head coach role at United in the summer. That could lead to Holland remaining at the club under a different head coach.

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