Ruben Amorim admits he is lucky to still be in a job at Manchester United after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham in May.
While Spurs fired Ange Postecoglou despite lifting the club’s first trophy in 17 years at the San Mames in Bilbao, United backed Amorim after missing out on automatic Champions League qualification and £100million in revenue.
As the two clubs meet again for the first time in North London on Saturday, Amorim claimed that the Old Trafford board are trusting him to deliver bigger prizes in future.
‘I’m really lucky to be here,’ said Amorim, whose team finished just two places higher than Spurs in 15th place in the Premier League. ‘I know that it’s also important for someone to understand how lucky I am to have this opportunity.
‘If you see the game, I think we deserved to win. In the end, it doesn’t matter. It’s hard to see a coach that wins a European cup to go away and the other guy stays.
‘But sometimes it’s the difference of maybe in the future to win more important titles. So that’s, I think, what Manchester United is thinking: let’s give time to the coach and see what’s happening.
‘So I just want to say about that question, that I’m really lucky to have the support that I have in this club.’
The two clubs are level on points this season with United two places below a Tottenham side in sixth and now managed by Postecoglou’s replacement Thomas Frank.
Amorim is refusing to get carried away by United’s run of three wins and a draw after a difficult start that saw his job come under threat again.
‘What I think is that we can win any game,’ he added. ‘Let's try to address every detail to try to win every game.
‘Everything is so close; so close up and so close down. Three weeks can change everything. It changed everything. We had a completely different conversation four weeks ago.
‘So let’s just focus on winning at Tottenham. Can we win at Tottenham? I think we can. Let’s do everything to win the next one.’
Meanwhile, Amorim doesn’t know if Casemiro and Harry Maguire will stay at United next season. Both players have revived their Old Trafford careers under the Portuguese coach, but are out of contract in the summer and can speak to foreign clubs from the start of January.
‘We don't know what is going to happen,’ said Amorim. ‘My goal is to continue to count on Casemiro, with Harry Maguire, that he has the same problem.
‘I'm really happy with Casemiro, he is really important. I'm really happy with Harry. But let’s focus on this season and then we’ll see the next season.’
United have the option to extend Casemiro’s £375,000-a-week contract by a year, but Maguire is coming to the end of his 12-month extension and would need to agree fresh terms.