Ruben Amorim targets incredible 20-YEAR stay at Man United as he thanks Old Trafford chiefs for sticking by him after horror debut season

Ruben Amorim wants to stay at Manchester United for 20 years after a nightmare first season that left him scared going to games.

Despite a wretched first seven months at Old Trafford in which he couldn’t prevent United from suffering their worst season in more than half a century and lowest finish in the Premier League era, Amorim insists he is in the job for the long haul.

‘Yeah, I want to stay. I want to stay 20 (years),’ he said on United’s pre-season tour of the US. ‘That is my goal and I truly believe in that. Always do. Something will happen. In some moments I will be lucky. I had a lot of luck during my career as a manager and my idea is to stay for many years.

‘But again we know that the results will dictate that. I know that last season I used (up) all the credits but I’m ready to start fresh.

‘I want to be manager of Manchester United for a while. And I took five years to choose this club so I don’t want to fail.’

The 40-year-old, who won two titles at Sporting Lisbon before joining United in November, added: ‘If you look, Sporting was the same thing. They said that in three months I’m out. They said that I had three per cent (chance) of winning one title with Sporting. It was the same thing.

Despite a wretched first seven months in which he couldn’t prevent United from suffering their worst season in more than half a century, Amorim insists he is in the job for the long haul

‘I know that the pressure is different but I truly believe in that and I don’t like to change club. I like to bond with people and carry on.

‘I was not thinking about leaving (Sporting) during the five years, but the last years I was waiting for the right club. I know it sounds crazy but I chose this club. I had the feeling. So I think I’m not going to have that feeling of I need to experience pain. I just want to bond, to be part of it. Until I can, I will stay here.’

Amorim is grateful to the United hierarchy for sticking with him through a difficult period in which he lost 14 of 27 Premier League games, and failed to secure a back-door route to the Champions League when he lost the Europa League final to Tottenham in Bilbao.

‘They always show support,’ he added. ‘And if you try to remember one team, one big team, that lost so many games and the manager kept his job, you will not find it. So that shows more than words that they support me.’

The worst part was travelling to games fearing what was about to happen next because his team were not good enough.

‘To tell you the truth, it’s not how I returned to my house after the games but how I left to go to the games,’ admits Amorim. ‘All the struggles that we had in the games, I feel it before the games.

Amorim is grateful to the United hierarchy for sticking with him through a difficult period in which he lost 14 of 27 Premier League games

‘So that is the hardest part. To go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive. When I returned, I just looked to my family and tried to think about different things. But I was really frustrated.’

Amorim believes United are going in the right direction under minority owners Ineos to put the club back where it belongs under a football leadership group of chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox as they create a new culture around a club with a proud history.

He said: ‘I have no doubts because there are some things that you cannot buy, and this club has them; the pedigree, the history, the fans. We have that, I think that is clear. Then the money, we have money. We have money without the Champions League. We’ll have money and more money in the future.

‘We are doing everything. You talk with Omar and all these guys, they are making all the strategy to have more money in the future. So that will not be a problem.

‘Then I think it’s clearly the culture. If we have a different culture, with all that, with all the pedigree, the money, all these things, we can return to our place, that is clear.’