Amorin insists he ‘never’ had conversations about Manchester City job | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim was quick to dismiss any suggestions he was being lined up to be the manager of the blue half of the city, rather than the red he now represents, ahead of the Manchester derby.

Amorin has a close relationship with former Sporting colleague and soon to be director of football at Manchester City, Hugo Viana, but firmly shut down any suggestions of a prospect of joining City before Pep Guardiola signed a contract extension beyond the end of this season.

“Never,” insists the former Sporting manager. “Never had and this was my only option.

“When Manchester United spoke to me, I had no doubts because I had already something in my mind, it could be a possibility. With Manchester City or Hugo Baiana, nothing about that.”

After a three-game unbeaten start, Amorim was given a revelation into the task ahead of him after back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and at home to Nottingham Forest. A comeback victory at Viktoria Plzen left much to be desired, too.

Guardiola’s side are also struggling, however, and one win in their last 10 has put their attempts to retain the Premier League trophy and advance in the Champions League at risk.

“I cannot leave it like a normal derby like it should be,” Amorim said. “Two great teams fighting for the title, it’s not that at this moment.

“It’s just one more game with a very good opponent. Both teams are struggling at the moment. So I hope in the future to feel that real feeling of derby.

“But I know that is really important for our fans but my goal now is to improve the team, win games, and we’ll try to win this game.”