'The result helped!' - Ruben Amorim admits Amad Diallo hat-trick eased tense post-match conversation with Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Manchester United's difficult and inconsistent performances have continued under Amorim since his takeover at Old Trafford following the departure of Erik ten Hag in October. However, the results have been evident but hard to come by as the Red Devils have won against Manchester City and Arsenal and drawn against Liverpool over the last month.

Nonetheless, the ruthlessness of the footballing industry has meant that Amorim's job has not remained secure with rumours about INEOS and co-owner Sir Ratcliffe being unhappy with Amorim's progress at Manchester United. The former Sporting coach has now revealed that he had the opportunity to hold talks with Ratcliffe after the win against Southampton, which came in dramatic fashion thanks to Amad Diallo's late 12-minute hat-trick after Manuel Ugarte's own-goal gave the Saints a first-half lead. Amorim also revealed that his talks with the co-owner were eased by the win over Southampton.

Speaking to the media, Amorim revealed: "I had five minutes with him [Ratcliffe] to talk about different things. It was not a good game, but the result helped the conversation! We continue doing our job.

"Today it was more important to win. I know the fans want to see so much better football, but we need to win games. We managed to win and we are going to prepare for the next game."

Despite the rumours, it is highly unlikely that INEOS are worried about the Portuguese coach and are very likely to back him until the end of the season before holding a post-season review to discuss Amorim's viability to continue as head coach of Manchester United.