Mark Bosnich: Ruben Amorim's stubborn security blanket is smothering Manchester United

I think Ruben Amorim is a really good young manager.

But another lacklustre start to the season at my old club, Manchester United, has put him under severe pressure to keep his job.

Being under pressure can be similar to when you've had a bit too much to drink on a night out. The truth comes out.

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And Amorim's truth is his stubborn insistence to a 3-4-3 formation.

It is a unique formation in top flight football these days and it brought him great success in his native Portugal with Sporting CP. It also brought Thomas Tuchel Champions League success with Chelsea in 2022.

It also went a long way to him winning the United job in the first place.

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But Amorim finished 15th in the Premier League last season and they are sitting 14th this campaign.

He knows it's simply not good enough for a club of United's stature and history.

"I'm not going to change. When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man," Amorim said after Monday's (AEST) 3-0 loss to Manchester City.

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He's holding onto this system as a security blanket in my opinion.

Being stubborn can be good to a point - look at Ange Postecoglou - but too much of anything is not good.

What he needs to do is turn around and say, OK I know how to do this system inside out, but Manuel Ugarte and Bruno Fernandes ain't going to be protecting Matthijs de Ligt, Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro.

It ain't going to happen and we've got evidence to show that.

It's not like the squad is bad - there are some top, top players there.

Amorim is thinking long-term but United need results now. They've got a star-studded Chelsea up next (Sunday AEST) and desperately need not to lose.

The situation makes me think back to conversations I've had with several managers. The one that stood out was with the great Serbian player, Dragan Stojkovic, who now manages Serbia and worked under Arsene Wenger.

I sat down with him in Botany Bay for 2-3 hours and just talked football.

He said you can have your philosophy, whether that be possession football, counter-attacking, a balance or win at all costs.

But the way you get there - the tactics, the game plan, the system - can vary within that and that's what's truly important.

There were rumours at the end of the last season that Amorim threatened to resign. It's not a good sign.

But United can't just keep sacking managers and expect any type of genuine success.

Football is a broad church. There's many ways to win football games.

There's many ways to incorporate your philosophy into a system.

Barcelona say we've got to play a certain brand of football.

Others like Real Madrid, the most successful club in European history, just want to win. They don't care how.

One of the great strengths of Carlo Ancelotti is that you couldn't really pin him down on a single style of play.

He has the Midas touch of adapting to the players he's got.

NO PANIC FOR POSTECOGLOU?

It's two starts and two losses for Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest.

The first defeat against Arsenal was to be expected - they are one of the best football teams on the planet.

The second loss against second-tier Swansea City was an upset, a bad result but he made a lot of changes and I don't think Ange will be losing too much sleep over it.

This was a trophy that Forest could have won but now the two that are available to him are the Europa League and FA Cup.

Ange is not going to be judged on the EFL Cup. The Premier League will go a long way to deciding his fate. Next is Burnley away (Sunday AEST) and I am picking Forest to get three points there.

Burnley offered pretty much zero against Liverpool and were basically parking the bus. It won't be easy but this is a very winnable game.

THE FAMOUS MERSEYSIDE DERBY

Australian audiences are in for a treat on Saturday night (9.30pm AEST) with the Merseyside derby between fierce rivals Liverpool and Everton.

I haven't played in one but I played in the Birmingham derby which is similarly fierce and historic.

Derbies are a special occasion and I've found that form often goes out the window.

It's scary for Liverpool's opposition that they haven't been at their very best, but they're still winning games.

And they're scoring very late. Scoring very late is a sign of a champion team.

They did it again in the Champions League this week and it's starting to remind me of 'Fergie Time' with United.

Everton lost their opener against Leeds and we thought, wow this is going to be a long season for them.

But they've come back really well, especially Jack Grealish who's been in outstanding form.

They were unfortunate last week against Aston Villa and only Emiliano Martinez's brilliant performance in goal stopped them winning that game.

It'll be a huge clash. Liverpool are favourites but don't underestimate David Moyes at Everton.

Moyes sides are really famed for never giving in, no matter what the scoreline or the pre-match predictions.

He won't stand for any less.

SAVING THE BEST TILL LAST

This is a huge weekend of action and the best game may be the last one as Arsenal host Manchester City on Monday (1.30am kickoff AEST).

It's a classic six pointer between two heavyweights and could prove crucial in placings at the top of the table.

I'm picking Arsenal to win. I liked what I saw against Nottingham Forest and Noni Madueke has been a revelation after leaving Chelsea.

- Premier League champion Mark Bosnich is writing a weekly column for Wide World of Sports. Catch him on Stan Sport's 'Added Time, an Australian lens on the global game