Ruben Amorim is protecting Manchester United's youngsters - now he needs to start protecting himself

Ruben Amorim was flanked by his backroom staff when Manchester United arrived at the Reale Arena on Thursday evening. Earlier in the day, Amorim boarded the team bus with his confidants that ferried them from Carrington to Manchester Airport.

United had reserved car parking spaces at the airport just for the players. Club sources were at pains to stress it was not a cost-cutting measure and owed to a private event at Ringway Visitor Park.

Amorim's United era is not so much yet to take off as the wheels have come off. Cup eliminations, a possible worst league finish since relegation in 1974, redundancies and ticket-price hikes have caused supporters to mobilise. Another protest will be staged around the visit of Arsenal on Sunday.

United won at Real Sociedad just over two years ago when they were a growing force again. An ex-Ajax Dutchman and Portuguese speaker held court the last time United were in the Reale Arena for their pre-match engagement. It was the same again this time, with the roles reversed.

Matthijs de Ligt, sat to Amorim's left, signed for Erik ten Hag but their reunion was short-lived. Back in November 2022, Ten Hag was joined by Casemiro. Ten Hag spoke English and Casemiro Portuguese yet they spoke the same football language.

Casemiro, likely to start against Real Sociedad, admitted 28 months ago that he was "surprised" by how obsessed Ten Hag was with winning. The pair were kindred spirits in the hushed setting that evening.

Those feel like heady days now. United won against Sociedad two seasons ago but not by the required two-goal margin to top their group. That set up a pulsating knockout tie with Barcelona that United triumphed in amid raucous scenes.

The eyes of the world were on those games, a