Ruben Amorim has publicly appealed for patience around Kobbie Mainoo’s situation at Manchester United after a family stunt and growing media attention. The manager framed Mainoo’s current role as part of a normal development process at Old Trafford, reminding observers that notable figures have not always been automatic starters.

Tensions rose after Mainoo’s half-brother posed in a t-shirt which read “Free Kobbie Mainoo” during the recent 4–4 draw with Bournemouth, a stunt that left former player Roy Keane thoroughly unimpressed. Ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Aston Villa, Amorim urged restraint and work ethic from the 20-year-old.

“Kobbie needs to fight for his job,” Amorim stressed ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Aston Villa. “I think that it is not a bad thing to be on the bench of Manchester United  when you are 20 years old.

“I remember Ronaldo was on the bench, Rooney was on the bench sometimes. [Juan Sebastián] Verón was not playing. I remember all the history of Manchester United and nobody … So let’s continue in trying to avoid the nonsense and the noise. I just want to help the team win, to help Kobbie to be a better player.”

Amorim has repeatedly defended his selection choices and has denied that limited use of Mainoo is a message or strategy aimed at anyone. He stressed the selection is made with match-winning priorities in mind and encouraged the young midfielder to respond on the field.

“I’m not trying to say to Kobbie, ‘You are a big player here, let’s put him on the bench to show something’,” he insisted. “No, no.

“What I’m saying is the opposite. I’m just not putting Kobbie sometimes because I understand that this is not the right guy to start the game. Maybe the next game, on Sunday, he is going to start.

“If he plays well, he’s going to show everyone. ‘This guy cannot take me from the team,’ and I will be so happy, so I don’t care. I don’t want to show nothing to anyone. I’m just saying that I’m trying to win games and to show to the players that if you do the things right, you will play no matter what the name.”

United are reportedly reluctant to sell Mainoo, who is the last remaining academy graduate in Amorim’s senior squad. Club sources say his departure would harm morale and undermine United’s bid to keep their 88-year streak of naming at least one homegrown player in every matchday squad.

Sir Alex Ferguson has warned that Manchester United may be some years away from another Premier League triumph, while expressing cautious optimism about recent recruitment.

Ferguson suggested a long cycle could lie ahead after a turbulent period at the club. Over the subsequent 12 years, there have been six permanent coaching appointments and not a single serious title challenge between them. Ruben Amorim, the current incumbent, was appointed midway through a 15th-place finish last term, the club’s lowest league position since they were relegated in 1974. At that point, Ferguson was still playing for Ayr United.

The Scot, remembered for his 13 Premier League titles, also reflected on his own early struggles. Midway through the 1989–90 campaign, which would see United slump to 13th, fan discontent produced a banner reading: “Three years of excuses and it’s still crap… ta ra Fergie.” He contrasted that era with Liverpool’s later wait for a title, which was ended by Jürgen Klopp in 2020.

“I remember looking back on my own time there [at Man Utd], starting off when Liverpool were the bee’s knees,” Ferguson recalled in an interview with Press Box PR this week. “They were a fantastic club winning the European Cup four times and all that, but then it took them 31 years to win the league again.

“We are now in the same situation. It could be 10 years, could be 11 years, because of that cycle. It has to be thought out carefully and we have to make sure the recruitment is going to be better than what it was.”

Despite his warning, Ferguson praised United’s summer business and singled out the new goalkeeper. “I think the appointment of the goalkeeper has made a difference,” the 83-year-old noted. “He’s young at 23, he’s quick, a big lad, good feet and hands, and I think that helps. I think they have needed that player. United have always had inspirational players over the years. I think that has helped.

“The other two, [Bryan] Mbeumo and [Matheus] Cunha, they look as if they will contribute to the recovery of our form.”

Amorim politely rejected the long-timeline prediction. “He understands football more than me, especially English football,” the Portuguese told assembled media on Friday. “I think we will not take that long to win a league and I don’t know which manager is going to be here, but I truly believe that we can fight for the title in the next years. I think it’s not going to take so many years, but you never know.”

Ruben Amorim again addressed concerns about the attitude of Manchester United’s younger players on Friday, singling out members of the academy as “entitled” and saying none had come to his office to discuss his earlier comments. The manager made the remarks ahead of Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa and defended his broader message about standards within the club.

Bruno Fernandes’ recent interview also featured in the discussion. Amorim confirmed the 31-year-old had spoken to officials before conducting the interview, the manager noting the captain “said what he is feeling.”

Amorim pointed to the reaction from some academy graduates after he previously questioned standards. Chido Obi and Harry Amass posted pictures on social media celebrating individual successes after suggestions they were not meeting the standards required to be a Man Utd player.

Amorim said his intent was not to be negative but that the players’ responses illustrated a wider cultural problem. “Sometimes strong words is not bad words, sometimes difficult moments is not the bad things for the kids,” Amorim said.

“We don’t need to be always with accolades in everything in every situation, we are not helping. That’s why when you guys talk about a lot of players nowadays that they go against the clubs and everything happened because they feel entitlement.

“I have that feeling all the time that we need to fight against this feeling. Sometimes I’m the first one to say that I’m failing this club inside the pitch, I have that feeling we are not performing the way we should be but outside the pitch, I guarantee you I’m not failing to this club.

“I think it’s something in our club, and we talk about the players sometimes forget about what it means to play for Manchester United. We as a club sometimes forget who we are and that’s that’s the feeling that I have. I understand everything is the environment, is the moment of the players, the kids they feel entitled.

“They feel free to respond to the manager with a picture, my office is open, nobody is coming to talk to me. And that is the way we can solve things. I think we need to change first as a club and then everything is going to change.”

On the reaction to his remarks he added: “I didn’t say anything wrong. I just spoke about how the luck of playing for Manchester United,” he continued. “Sometimes you play for Manchester United and you go see different realities and you understand that football can be so different and that you are really lucky to be in Manchester United.

“That was my point but, again, let’s move on and with the time that I think these things will change.”

Off the field Amorim is also trying to secure more consistent performances. United are sixth in the Premier League, an improvement on last season, but they continue to frustrate, most recently in Monday’s 4–4 draw with Bournemouth, a game in which they surrendered a 2–1 lead to trail 3–2, went 4–3 up and then conceded a late equaliser to Eli Junior Kroupi.