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Amorim's tenure at Manchester United has been labeled a major disappointment. Statistically speaking, his performance is notable for all the wrong causes. In the Premier League era, no United manager has recorded fewer points per game, or achieved a final position as low as 15th in the table. Delving further back, you have to return to Frank O'Farrell in the early seventies to find a manager at the club who lost a larger share of games. Additionally, he famously etched his name in United's annals by experiencing a final loss to Spurs, specifically the current version of Tottenham.

Football, however, is not often so black and white. Despite the scrutiny of his 3-4-2-1 formation, the Portuguese manager exits a team in a far better state than that which he inherited. Months ago, following a win against Brighton, Danny Welbeck relayed that his colleagues were hailing their opponents as the best team they had played against in a while. Their play in a exhilarating four-all stalemate with Bournemouth was both promising and thrilling.

Even though it is tough to argue against the dismissal—particularly given it was allegedly triggered by his criticism of executives with even worse records—his exit was ultimately hampered by terrible fortune. Had the absence of crucial personnel not occurred alongside the unavailability of other important members, he may still be in the job—possibly succeeding.

Fletcher Takes the Reins

Consequently, Darren Fletcher steps into a relatively positive state of affairs. Key figures like Mount, Bruno Fernandes, and Mainoo are available again, while Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo will soon be back from the Afcon. Simply sensible management of this skilled group should be adequate to secure a fifth-place finish and, with it, continental football for the coming campaign—in all likelihood in the prestigious European Cup.

Burnley's Daunting Task

Burnley, though, won't be a pushover. Even with boasting only 12 points and having lost 3 of their most recent five matches, their showings have at times been better than the scorelines show. Manager Scott Parker will undoubtedly have his team pumped up to take the game to the visitors who are set to field an XI that has not had time to gel, arranged in a formation they have gone without for a year or more.

Kick-off: 20:15 GMT.