Former Manchester United defender Paul Parker has warned Ruben Amorim that he will always be a few defeats away from the sack after a challenging first year at the club left a scar that will take time heal.

Unitedboss Amorim oversaw a disastrous 15th-place finish in the Premier Leaguelast season, with defeat in the Europa League final against Tottenham last May another low point for the Portuguese tactician.

United’s inconsistencies this season have left Amorim teetering on the brink of an Old Trafford exit on a few occasions, with co-owner Jim Ratcliffe stepping in to insist the club would back their manager at one of his lowest moments.

Now Parker has claimed Amorim will face persistent pressure every time his team have a dip in results, as he suggested the expectations around a United manager will not change despite the club’s slide in fortunes over recent years.

The former defender, who won two Premier League titles under Sir Alex Ferguson’s management during his time at United, also claimed the unpredictable nature of this season’s Premier League has ramped up the pressure on Amorim to deliver Champions League football next season.

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“Given the nature of the Premier League this season and how every team is dropping points, United have to finish in the top four,” Parker told Football365 with British Gambler.

“At the start of the season, I said United should be aiming for top eight and a return to European football, but that has changed given everything we have seen this season.

“Liverpool have been struggling, Tottenham are not performing well, Chelsea are inconsistent and teams like Crystal Palace and Sunderland are in the top four mix. Well, Manchester United have to be there as well.

“A lot of the teams are poor this season. At the moment, we might be seeing 2016 again, when Leicester won the title, so that puts pressure on United.

“Every manager who has been at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013 has faced the same pressure and that won’t change.

“Sir Alex always said that if you lose more than five league games, you won’t win the league. That was considered to be a bad season.

“Now, we are seeing United losing four and five games quickly and last season they lost 18 matches, which is an incredible number for a club of that size. A lot of that number is on Amorim.

“He is willing to take on that burden and expectation. He must have known that when he took on the job, his whole life would be 90 minutes of football and endless interviews. And when you lose as Manchester United manager, you know what is coming at you.”

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Parker also gave his verdict on the ongoing omission of Kobbie Mainoo from the United line-up, as he challenged Amorim to explain why he has decided to leave the youngster out of his team despite the need for midfield reinforcements.

“The manager needs to give a reason why Mainoo is not part of his plans,” added Parker. “Kobbie needs to play. He deserves to have a chance to play a run of games and show what he can do.

“It’s not up to me to tell Amorim who to pick, but we saw Mainoo had the talent when he came into the team and he hasn’t been given the chance to build on that.

“When he comes on now, he has played a bit-part role and he is trying not to make a mistake, so the manager needs to make him feel wanted. Amorim needs to tell him he is playing the next game and he needs to make him feel he is part of it.

“If that doesn’t happen, he probably needs to go on loan, prove what he can do and then return to United to give the manager a chance to say he made a mistake and bring him back into his team.

“At the moment, a lot of the fans are standing with the manager because they know getting rid of another manager is bringing the club down again and creating more chaos. They don’t want that.

“What everyone wants is to get a manager in place who is there for the long term and brings the club back, but there are questions over whether that man is Amorim and the fans want to see Mainoo in that team.”

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