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Ruben Amorim's comments about Manchester United's young players arguably hastened his demise during his final weeks at Old Trafford.
When questioned in mid-December over the continued omission of midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, the former Manchester United boss name-checked academy graduate Harry Amass, then on loan at Sheffield Wednesday, and Under-18 striker Chido Obi as he defended his decision.
Amorim said: "Amass is now struggling in Championship. Chido is not always a starter in Under-21. All these guys played when a lot of people were saying sack the manager. So you can see I’m not worried. I just want to win and if he's the right guy, I will put him in."
Manchester United youngster stars in front of Michael Carrick
The two youngsters appeared to bite back at Amorim's comments by posting photos on Instagram that were later deleted, with Amass sharing a picture of him holding Wednesday's Player of the Month Award for November, whilst Obi posted a photo showing him celebrating a goal for the club's academy.
Amorim was sacked on January 5 and was replaced by former midfielder Michael Carrick as interim head coach until the end of the season, with the 44-year-old winning four and drawing one of his first five games.
Carrick has also made a good impression with the club's youngsters, attending an Under-21s' game just days into his new job in a stark contrast to Amorim, who reportedly failed to watch an academy match during his 14-month tenure.
The interim boss again took the opportunity to watch the next generation on Wednesday night, attending the Under-18s' 4-1 win over Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium in the FA Youth Cup fifth round.
And Obi seized his chance to impress Carrick as he scored the visitors' third goal with a neat finish five minutes after half-time, having also found the net in last Saturday's 3-1 victory at Manchester City in the Under-18 Premier League.
Albert Mills and highly-rated 15-year-old JJ Gabriel had put the Premier League side 2-0 up at the break, before Oxford's Josh Holton reduced the deficit to 3-1 and Noah Ajayi added a late fourth.
Darren Fletcher's side can now look forward to a quarter-final against the winners of Sunderland's fifth-round tie with Brighton & Hove Albion next Tuesday.
Obi, 18, joined Manchester United from Arsenal at the start of the 2024/25 season and was actually handed his first-team debut by Amorim, coming off the bench in the closing stages of a 1-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur last February.
The Dane made seven further appearances last term, including starting a 4-3 defeat at Brentford in May, but has not played for the senior side since.
After Amorim appeared to suggest he wasn't ready to return to first-team action, Obi will hope his performance in front of Carrick will make the interim boss think differently to his predecessor.
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