Vote of confidence must not detract from Anfield quest

RUBEN Amorim's preparation for Manchester United's visit to arch rivals Liverpool on Sunday will no doubt have been boosted by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's endorsement of his head coach.

- By DAVID MCDONNELL

While Amorim claims to have a close relationship with Ratcliffe - to the extent they send each other GIFs and tell each other to f***off - to have the public backing of your boss, in the midst of a crisis on the pitch, will have been welcomed by the United manager.

Ratcliffe's insistence that Amorim must be given time - the three-year length of his contract, according to United's co-owner - to prove he is a “great coach” is laudable, but the 40-year-old Portuguese head coach knows the caveat to that is that results must pick up.

So Amorim cannot afford to get distracted by Ratcliffe's vote of confidence in him, as he assesses his in-tray ahead of the huge trip to Anfield, where he will be seeking back-to-back Premier League wins at the 11th time of asking since taking charge of United almost a year ago.

United's players who are not on international duty trained Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, but have been given a few days off before returning on Monday for the return to Premier League action.

So what is in Amorim’s in-tray ahead of the trip to reigning champions and arch rivals Liverpool? Let's take a look:

DECIDE ON HIS No.1 GOALKEEPER