'Amorim calls for Man Utd unity but huge challenges for divided club'

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim addresses fans after the 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford Ruben Amorim said the right things in his end of season address to Manchester United's fans from the centre circle at Old Trafford. As promised, he apologised for a "disaster" of a season and he assured supporters that, after predicting at the end of his first week as Erik ten Hag's replacement a "storm was coming", is now saying "the good days are coming". But he said something else at the end of the 2-0 victory against Aston Villa that might not easily become reality. "Now we have to make a choice or we stay stuck in the past," he said. "We either fight each other or we stick together and move forward." Amorim and his players had not completed their lap of appreciation before another rendition of 'We want Glazers out' rolled round the stadium. That was an acceptable chant. For half an hour from 3pm there had been far more coarse, vicious and threatening songs sung about the American family, who have owned United since 2005. The debt they loaded against United to complete their leveraged takeover and the huge sums spent to service it since are being highlighted with extra vehemence now, as reasons are sought to explain what turned out to be a 15th-placed finish and what is accepted to be the club's worst campaign since the 1973-74 relegation season. According to respected blogger Swiss Ramble, United have paid out £738m in net interest during the Glazers' tenure. That is more than twice as much as the next highest club. Their total debt is now in excess of £1.1bn when outstanding transfer payments are included. Amorim tried to explain his on-pitch comments when he spoke to the wider media later. "It is everything," he said, when asked what precisely he meant. "It is hard to point one thing. In difficult moments we blame each other sometimes as a club, as a family, it is normal but we need to stick together and we will be okay." Manchester United fans protested against the club's ownership before the 2-0 win against Aston Villa Amorim may be waiting a long time if he wants the section of support who despise the Glazer family and are now starting to assess Sir Jim Ratcliffe in a similarly negative light to put on a unified front. Then there are the fans who sit in front of the directors' box, many of whom have had the same seat for decades, who are now being moved out to make way for a corporate hospitality area. And those whose concessions are being reduced. And the threats of season tickets being taken away from fans who don't use them often enough. With a second round of redundancies in process, far from being optimistic about the future, Amorim is presiding over a club that is really unhappy just now. Issues around the way United are run came in a later answer. Before Amorim spoke on the pitch, Victor Lindelof, goalscorer Christian Eriksen and veteran defender Jonny Evans were called forward individually to take the acclaim of supporters as it was confirmed they would be leaving the club when their contracts expire on 30 June. This is the start of what is expected to be a huge churn of players before the transfer window closes on 1 September. Yet Amorim had to caution against this. Premier League regulations mean clubs are restricted to three-year losses of £105m. United's actual losses are far more, so it is not clear what they have been allowed to claim back as legitimate expense and therefore how close they are to the limit. But, while strong rumours Wolves forward Matheus Cunha is set to complete a £62.5m switch this summer have not been denied by United officials, Amorim says the club cannot just spend what they want. "It is hard to talk about that," he said. "Of course we will have changes, you saw today three players are leaving. But we have fair play rules and we are limited." United did end the season with their first home win since February and one of their best performances. Yet, a familiar flaw was evident. Amorim has complained about the lack of goal threat from his team. Today they had 25 shots in total, 10 on target. They played against 10 men for half of the game. Yet they didn't score until the 76th minute and didn't put the game to bed until Eriksen converted his penalty. No wonder Amorim kicked out at a bottle of water in frustration when Casemiro's second-half shot flicked against the outside of a post. In addition to Amorim's speech, United's post-match lap of appreciation was also notable for the way Alejandro Garnacho hung back to take the applause of supporters, standing for a few moments in front of the Stretford End with his wife, who had posted on Instagram before the match that it was "the last game". Garnacho was not included in Amorim's matchday squad and is understood to have been told he can find a new club this summer. Napoli and Chelsea were interested in signing the Argentina forward in the winter window but no deal materialised. Amorim opted not to expand on the situation, although he admitted he was not certain what would happen with the 20-year-old. "Garnacho is a Manchester United player who was not in the squad today," he said. "I have no news that will change today and I don't know what is going to happen in the future."