Rio Ferdinand has said he had noticed a change in Ruben Amorim’s demeanour in recent weeks after the Manchester United head coach was sacked on Monday.

United announced Amorim had departed the club on Monday morning and while expressing his surprise, Ferdinand believes the situation began deteriorating before Christmas.

Former United defender Ferdinand told his Rio Ferdinand Presents YouTube channel: “He wouldn’t have been on my first three or four or five people that I would have put as managers to get the sack right now in the league, so I am surprised.

“But when you look at his record in black and white, I’m not surprised, which is weird, and it sounds weird when I say that.

“This guy, one of his best traits and most likeable things about him has always been his ability to be quite punchy in his press conferences, upbeat, and he had quite a jovial way about him and the last two that he’d done looked depressing.

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“When I went there the last time, I noticed immediately that there was a coldness about him.

“There was a real difference to what I’d seen before and it was almost like now I look back with hindsight, things were starting to cook before Christmas. This isn’t just an overnight thing.”

Amorim’s explosive comments in his news conference after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Leeds raised doubts over his own future by hinting at disharmony behind the scenes at Old Trafford.

He insisted he was the manager rather than head coach and urged United’s scouting department and sporting director “to do their job.”

Former England striker Gary Lineker said Amorim was the wrong man to manage a club that he described as a “basket case.”

“I think it was almost as though he provoked it,” Lineker told the Rest Is Football.

“It didn’t seem to be the right fit and he was a bit stubborn about the way he wanted to play. The players didn’t suit the way he plays and the club should have recognised that.

“I suspect they haven’t supported him in the sense of bringing in the players he would have wanted in certain positions.

“Also, it’s been bit of a basket case of a football club over the last few years.”

Former United striker Michael Owen believes Amorim’s departure was the only option available to the club.

“Amorim’s sacking inevitable following his words after the Leeds game,” Owen said on X.

“United’s board must be secretly happy that he has given them the perfect opportunity to part ways. Probably the right call but there’s no obvious, stand out candidate out there.”

United defender Harry Maguire wished Amorim well on his Instagram account, posting a photo of the two them clasping hands accompanied by the message “Thank you for everything boss. I wish you all the best in the future.”

Maguire’s team-mate Bruno Fernandes also used social media to say farewell to the 40-year-old. “Thank you, Mister! I wish you and your technical staff all the best,” he wrote on Instagram.

Rene Meulensteen, who spent six years as United’s first team coach until his departure in 2013, has urged the Old Trafford hierarchy to hire a replacement who knows how to win in the Premier League.

“They don’t want to make another mistake and very quickly go for someone that they’re sort of trying to fill the void with. They need to really look,” Meulensteen told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“They need somebody with pedigree. Someone who understands the Premier League, who’s been successful in the Premier League.

“Someone with a strong personality, with charisma. Someone with good vision about how to take Manchester United forward.”