Ruben Amorim will take charge of his first Man United game this afternoon (Image: Getty)
Ex- skipper Stuart Pearce has told Express Sport that incoming manager is already on a hiding to nothing ahead of his debut.
, with a head-to-head against Kieran McKenna’s first on the agenda.
The charismatic coach arrives after a successful four years with Sporting, where he helped end a two-decade wait for a Portuguese league title.
He’ll be similarly tasked with bringing the good times back to Old Trafford upon his arrival at the three-time European champions.
But according to Pearce, who managed over 100 matches, Amorim already has his back against the wall and can all but wave goodbye to finishing inside the positions this term.
Speaking exclusively to Express Sport this week, Pearce said: “They’ll [United] will be in the top half of the league at the finish of it.
“If they get a European place they’ll be delighted, I don’t think they’re too far off points-wise, so I probably expect them to finish sixth or seventh in the division, maybe slightly higher.”
But on their top-four hopes, the ex- boss concluded: “I can’t see them getting Champions League.
Stuart Pearce doesn’t think Man United will make the Champions League spots this season (Image: Getty)
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“They’d have done extremely well [under Amorim] if they do. I think there’s four better teams in the division at this moment in time.
“He comes with a good CV, his personality goes before him, but I think he’s got a difficult job as well. The one thing United fans have got to be is patient.”
Pearce was been speaking during the launch of the FA and E.ON Next’s – an initiative targeted at making football clubs up and down the pyramid more sustainable.
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On the campaign, he said: “The campaign is launching for five years which is fantastic, they’re going to go around to a minimum of 100 clubs this year and just give them guidance on how they might be more sustainable and greener.”
Former England Lionesses ace Anita Asante added: “The campaign is dedicated to investing £1.5million every year into grassroots while helping them understand the different sustainable practices they can look into for their own clubs.
“Some of those clubs will have the opportunity to be audited and actually look at their installations and where it has or hasn’t been effective to help reduce energy costs.”