Ruben Amorim’s former assistant coach has suggested that his ideas were not “fully implemented” at Manchester United. Amorim was sacked in January after only 14 months at the helm at Old Trafford. Amorim took up the reins from Sporting Lisbon in November 2024. He presided over United’s worst season in 51 years and endured defeat to Tottenham in the Europa League final.

In the Premier League, Amorim had the poorest win ratio (32 per cent), the highest goals conceded per game ratio (1.53) and the lowest clean sheet ratio (15 per cent) of any United manager. Amorim was shown the door following a fiery post-Leeds press conference at Elland Road, during which he implied other staff members at the club should concentrate on their own roles.

Adelio Candido was one of two assistants in Amorim’s coaching team during his tenure. The 29-year-old was a crucial member of Amorim’s staff and supervised the players’ warm-ups before matches.

In an interview with The Ball, Candido was asked about his favourite and least favourite aspects of coaching at United. He replied: “Experience is always experience, whether the outcome is good or bad, we always come away with learning.

“In Manchester, I really liked the city and the way the fans experience football, more focused on the project than on the immediate result. What I liked least was, without a doubt, feeling that our ideas weren’t fully implemented.”

Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Amorim’s tactical system proved a subject of debate during his tenure at the club. He remained committed to his 3-4-3 formation and only modified the strategy following input from Jason Wilcox.

The 41-year-old’s backroom team also faced questions over their limited experience. When Candido was asked whether being part of such a youthful coaching setup assisted him in managing intense scrutiny, he responded: “I think the fact that we were young helped us deal with the pressure.

“We always had a positive daily routine at work. With the existing pressure, it’s normal for people to get more annoyed than usual in a technical team, and that wasn’t the case for us.”

Discussing how he handled criticism, Candido stated: “Honestly, I don’t follow opinions outside of my work group. Something always ends up coming through social media, but I really don’t pay any attention to any of that.”