Jose Mourinho favourite to replace Ruben Amorim after United defeat
Man Utd lost 1-0 against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final and the bookmakers have reacted.
Jose Mourinho is the bookmakers' favourite to replace Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.
United needed to win the Europa League to salvage their season, but Tottenham opened the scoring in Bilbao and Brennan Johnson's goal just before half-time proved to be the matchwinner.
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Amorim did not make any changes at the interval and he delayed his substitutions in the second half, despite United lacking quality in every area of the pitch. Alejandro Garnacho and Joshua Zirkzee came on with 20 minutes remaining and marginally improved United, but Tottenham were comfortable.
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United pushed for an equaliser in the final exchanges but looked blunt in attack. Tottenham's fans sensed their first trophy since 2008, and they duly watched their side see out a 1-0 victory.
The bookmakers have reacted to the final and have compiled a list of replacements for Amorim.
If Amorim made an unexpected departure, Betfair regard Mourinho as the favourite to replace him and they believe Kieran McKenna, Gareth Southgate, Xavi, Thomas Frank and Marco Silva are other contenders.
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Betfair: Next permanent United Manager
Jose Mourinho 4/1
Kieran McKenna 9/2
Gareth Southgate 8/1
Xavi 17/2
Thomas Frank 9/1
Marco Silva 11/1
Carlo Ancelotti, Mauricio Pochettino, Unai Emery 12/1
Zinedine Zidane 16/1
Brendan Rodgers 18/1
Roy Keane 50/1
Amorim is expected to remain at United, though, and he discussed his future in his post-match press conference. "In this moment, I am not going to be here defending myself, is not my style," Amorim said.
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"I cannot do it, is really hard for me. So I have nothing to show to the fans to say I am going to improve because of this, I had these problems, I will not do nothing.
"In this moment, it’s a little bit of faith. So let’s see. Like I said before, coming here before in the flash, I am always open. If the board and fans feel that I’m not the right guy, I will go the next day without any conversation about compensation.
"But I will not quit again. I am really confident in my job and, as you can see, I will not change nothing in the way I do things."
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United have suffered a staggering 20 defeats in all competitions this season, which is their most in a campaign since losing 22 in 1973-74, when they were relegated from the top-flight.
Aston Villa visit Old Trafford for the final Premier League game of the season on Sunday.
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