Why Tottenham vs Manchester United is so important for Ange Postecoglou and Ruben Amorim | OneFootball

Carabao Cup can go a long way to buying both managers something they need

The furore around Ruben Amorim's decision to drop Marcus Rashford for Sunday's Manchester derby and the forward's subsequent admission that he is "ready for a new challenge" has gone some way to reaffirming the scale of the Portuguese's task at Old Trafford.

Rashford has reportedly been left out of the United squad again for the visit to north London, and his situation dominated Amorim's pre-match press conference, to the point where it was easy to forget that he was there to preview a significant occasion for the club.

Rashford's future will inevitably continue to be a talking point throughout January, in spite of Amorim's insistence that he wants the forward to embrace the "biggest challenge" of being a success at his boyhood club, and is likely to prove an unwanted distraction in the manager's attempts to stabilise the club this season.

Amorim’s decision to drop Rashford has reaffirmed the size of the job facing him at Old Trafford

Getty Images

Amorim, to his credit, has been candid about the size of rebuild needed at United, calling for time and patience to overhaul the playing squad and change the culture.

"It will be a long journey, but we want to win because this is a massive club," Amorim said after Nottingham Forest consigned his side to back-to-back defeats before their late win over Manchester City. "We need time and to continue to work in the same way every day."

As Postecoglou emphasised on Wednesday, however, few managers are afforded as much time as they would like in the cut-throat modern game, with the Australian claiming it is now "open season" on coaches' jobs.

"This notion that clubs want to bring managers in and build stuff doesn't exist because we all understand... that the moment there is a bit of a wobble there will be [pressure] coming from all areas," Postecoglou said, responding to the sackings of Gary O'Neill by Wolves and Russell Martin by Southampton.

No-one will seriously judge Amorim before the start of next season given the mess he inherited from Erik ten Hag and nor will his job be at risk if United win nothing this term and remain in mid-table.

If, however, it is time the 39-year-old needs, the Carabao Cup could be a useful means to an end for United this season.

Amorim would immediately strengthen his position by winning the competition, endearing himself to fans and galvanising the playing squad - incentives which add significance to a trophy which United would once have regarded as bottom of their list of priorities.

United go into Thursday's match in 13th, a point behind equally-inconsistent Spurs, and tracking for their worst-ever finish in the Premier League era.

Like Amorim, Postecoglou is engaged in a major project at Spurs

Getty Images

It would be far easier for supporters to stomach staying in mid-table in the second half of the season if they can dream of winning another domestic cup.

Mikel Arteta is the best example of a manager who commanded extra patience and support after leading Arsenal to the FA Cup in 2020 at the end of his first season in charge, playing a part in keeping the club and fans fully on board amid consecutive eighth-placed finishes.

And Amorim can look much closer to home; his predecessor, Ten Hag, shored-up his position by winning the Carabao Cup in his first season before leading United to the FA Cup last term, beating City in the final.

Postecoglou, who is always reluctant to talk-up the necessity to quickly end Spurs' long trophy drought, has claimed Ten Hag's example proves that winning silverware will not save him from the sack. But, to look at it another, would the Dutchman have lasted nearly so long if he had not delivered trophies?

Amorim, like Postecoglou, is now engaged in a major project to change United's playing style (or instil one in the first place) and transform the club's prospects.

Bombing out Rashford will be the first of a litany of big decision ahead in his attempt to perform a full cultural re-set at an organisation which has lost its way,

Winning the Carabao Cup, which will start to feel in touching distance if United beat Spurs tonight, would go a long way to buying Amorim that most precious of commodities: time.