Manchester United are reportedly starting preparations to have backup plans in place in case they decide to sack Ruben Amorim before the end of the current season. According to reports, former United midfielder and current under-18 head coach Darren Fletcher has emerged as the favourite to take over the reins in an interim role if Amorim faces the axe.

Toon boss Howe has delivered a simple rebuke to rumours linking him with the Manchester United job, confirming his commitment to the Magpies. Amorim’s job is seemingly hanging in the balance with Man Utd languishing in 14th place after a woeful start to the season, one point and one place above Newcastle. But Howe has moved quickly to squash any potential link.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim insists his system is not to blame for his team's poor run of results after he faced scathing criticism from club legends Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney as well as Jamie Carragher. The coach's 3-4-3 shape has come in for fresh scrutiny after last week's 3-1 defeat at Brentford although he claims that there are other reasons why his team have lost three of their first six Premier League games.

The full cost of replacing the Man Utd managers and their coaching teams since the departure of Sir Alex has been revealed and it could leap up by a mammoth amount if the club decide to dispense of current incumbent Amorim. The merry-go-round of managers in the 12 years since the Scot left includes some of the biggest names in the game, but none of them have come close to filling his boots.

Ruben Amorim has been told that the manager isn't the problem at Manchester United, who have been advised to "get back to schoolboy football". The former Sporting CP coach, who was parachuted into Old Trafford last November with a glowing reputation, has seen his new chapter in England crash hard amid an extremely poor run of results.