The three traits to Jason Wilcox's 'game model' at Man United that Ruben Amorim must follow

Jason Wilcox has been handed extra responsibility at Manchester United since Dan Ashworth’s exit.

When Manchester United poached Dan Ashworth from Newcastle to become the club’s new sporting director, supporters finally thought there was an elite structure in place.

The Red Devils were one of the last teams in the Premier League to recruit a sporting director, whose role usually involves defining a clear style of play and helping with recruitment.

However, Ashworth shockingly left United in early December just five months after joining the club. The elite Ineos footballing structure forged by Sir Jim Ratcliffe all of a sudden is in dire need of a reshuffle.

Instead of replacing Dan Ashworth with an external appointment, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox were handed enhanced roles with heightened responsibility. Talk of hiring a new sporting director has gone eerily quiet.

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Jason Wilcox responsible for Man United’s ‘game model’

One of the many issues at Old Trafford over the past decade is that the current first-team squad is made up of players signed by several managers with very different footballing philosophies.

While Jose Mourinho wanted a powerful and physical side, Erik ten Hag failed to make those same players play in a high press. The squad is a dire reflection of the lack of direction from those above the manager.

That is what many hoped Ashworth would change, but it seems the responsibility of setting a “game model” has instead been handed to technical director Jason Wilcox.

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According to The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, the messaging from those inside the club is that Wilcox sets the “game model” that has to be followed by the head coach.

The role of head coach is important in itself. Amorim does not have as much power as those before him who were branded managers instead of coaches. The Portuguese must follow the footballing philosophy set from above.

Whitwell went into further detail on Wilcox’s game model, describing it as “a style akin to high-energy, attacking football, which can map onto any formation”.

Ruben Amorim has improved Man United’s style of play

Perhaps the biggest criticism of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford is that he failed to implement a clear style of play.

Amorim has only been at United for less than two months but already his vision and footballing identity is easy for fans to identify and align with.

READ MORE: Ruben Amorim and Jason Wilcox stance on Man Utd academy talents, exciting prediction made

Amorim promised fans would see “an idea” in his early matches and that was certainly true – even if it didn’t produce the desired results. In the last month alone, Amorim’s style has allowed United to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City and Liverpool without tasting defeat.

Sure, there are still plenty of problems still to fix but there is a clear style of play that Amorim is working towards, and it seems to align with Wilcox’s “game model”.

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