Ruben Amorim Talks Cristiano Ronaldo's Man United Criticism, 'Focus on the Future'

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim didn't want to dwell on the criticism levied by club legend Cristiano Ronaldo about the structural issues that have spanned multiple coaching regimes at Old Trafford.

"What we need to focus on is the future," Amorim told reporters. "We know that we as a club made a lot of mistakes in the past and we are trying to change that. Let's not focus on what happened.

"Let's focus on what we are doing now and we are doing that. We are changing a lot of things in the structure, the way we do things and want the players to behave. We are doing that and we are improving, so let's continue and forget the past."

In a wide-ranging interview with Piers Morgan, Ronaldo discussed the current state of Manchester United.

"We all have to be honest and say they are not in a good path," he said (via ESPN's Adriana Garcia). "They need to change. It's not only about the coach and players, in my opinion, it's much more."

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner added that Amorim "is doing his best" but can't work "miracles."

Ronaldo's remarks represent the broad consensus on Manchester United. The club has been fighting an uphill battle ever since the Glazer family assumed majority control in 2005, and the decline was immediate once legendary manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

United has had six permanent managers since Ferguson, and their profiles have varied from retired club legend (Ole Gunnar Solskjær), era-defining tacticians (José Mourinho and Louis van Gaal), experienced Premier League gaffers (Mourinho and David Moyes) to fast-rising coaches from abroad (Amorim and Erik ten Hag).

The Red Devils' spending on transfers during the Glazer era is into the 10 figures, and many of their biggest signings have been either complete flops or generally underwhelming.

The arrival of Jim Ratcliffe as a minority stakeholder promised change but has delivered more of the same. Ratcliffe has also become the face of austerity with the club cutting ties with numerous staffers behind the scenes.

Amorim didn't want to entertain Ronaldo's big-picture assessment, but there have been instances across his tenure when even he alluded to the scale of the challenge before him.

From the moment he accepted the job, the Portuguese manager has tried to maintain a delicate balance of publicly recognizing Manchester United's sustained malaise without sounding like he's already defeated.

United is eighth in the Premier League and only a point behind Sunderland for fourth. Maybe a light at the end of the tunnel is starting to emerge.