The man who helped pile more misery on beleaguered Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim – Grimsby Town’s David Artell – says the Portuguese is an “excellent manager”.
United crashed out of the EFL Cup last night on a penalty shoot-out after coming back from 2-0 down thanks to late goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire.
They were fortunate to even take it to spot-kicks with Grimsby vastly superior for the first 70 minutes on a wild night at Blundell Park.
Despite fielding several internationals, including Maguire, Mbeumo, Manuel Ugarte, Amad Diallo, Matheus Cunha and new £74million striker Benjamin Sesko, United were a shambles.
Amorim apologises after Manchester United exit
Amorim apologised to the United fans after the game and hinted at a rift with his squad after saying they had “spoke really loud today [with] what they want.”
It paints a very unhappy picture at Old Trafford but Amorim does have one man who still believes in him.
Grimsby boss Artell told BBC Radio 5 Live: “They are not a poor team. They are certainly on the right track to getting back right to the top [of the] table.
“They have got an excellent manager and they don’t need a second invite to put it on you and get back in the game.”
Grimsby should have won in 90 minutes – Artell
While being gracious in victory, it spoke volumes that Artell was frustrated that his League Two side did not hand United a comprehensive beating in normal time.
“The disappointing thing is that we didn’t manage to win it in 90 minutes,” he added. “We absolutely fluffed a chance to make it 3-0. We’ve had two goals disallowed, one I think is a perfectly good one. But we gave them a chink of light… and this is Manchester United.”
Grimsby’s reward is a third-round tie at Sheffield Wednesday – conquerors of Leeds in round two – and Artell was still in dreamland when he looked back this morning on last night’s achievement.
“It was a crazy night. The old girl Blundell Park was rocking,” he said. “It was a fantastic night for the whole town – the community and everyone associated with the football club.”
Grimsby march on but for Amorim it is starting to look bleak. He has won just seven of 29 Premier League games and his favoured 3-4-3 formation continues to look woefully ill-suited to the players at his disposal.
Next up is a home game with newly promoted Burnley at the weekend.
