Victorious Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was anxious to play down comparisons between his immediate impact at Wolves and the tortuous bedding-in process fellow countryman Ruben Amorim is enduring at Manchester United. "It was not Vitor v Ruben, it was Wolves v Manchester United," said Pereira after his side's 2-0 win at Molineux. "Ruben is a top coach in my opinion and with time he will show his level.
" However, it is hard to ignore some basic mathematical realities. In two matches since replacing Gary O'Neil at Wolves, Pereira has guided his new club to two victories. Those six points are one fewer than Amorim has managed in his seven league games as head coach following the dismissal of Erik ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy's short spell as interim.
Amorim's five defeats in his first 10 matches in all competitions is the worst performance by any new United manager since Walter Crickmer in 1932. He lost six out of 10. That is quite some statistic.
Some may argue it is also completely meaningless. Crickmer was part of a bygone age when there was no such thing as a manager - twice he stepped up from his day job as club secretary to "take charge of team affairs", according to United's own website. Amorim is not a manager either.
His title as coach was a change from the past, part of the collective responsibility the new structure instigated by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe that has been put in place. But Amorim is the man who must find answers, starting with his side's continual inabil.
