When Ralf Rangnick came up with his famous line about Manchester United needing "open heart surgery," it was uttered in a press conference embargoed until 10.30pm on a Friday.

By the time the United squad arrived at the Emirates at around 11am the following morning, the players were aware of what had been said - and they were not impressed. Rangnick had been letting off steam in press conferences for a while, but on this occasion, he had hurled his players under the metaphorical bus.

His standing in the dressing room was already poor. His coaching staff were nowhere near good enough for United, and Rangnick himself was better in the role of sporting director at club level. It was a mess within weeks of his appointment and after that comment, it was sometimes toxic in the dressing room.

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Ruben Amorim isn't in that position yet. From a coaching standpoint, he has a stronger CV, is a more relatable coach to these players, and has a long-term contract. Rangnick was only ever an interim appointment.

But in time, his comment about this being "the worst Manchester United team in history" could belong in the same category as Rangnick's. It will certainly damage relations with some players.

The fact that the 2021/22 squad knew of Rangnick's comments not long after they became public shows that players listen to what their manager or head coach says in public. It's almost impossible to avoid it, and even if they try, you can be sure their agents, PR advisors, or friends will have alerted them.

So what would they have made of that claim? Perhaps they thought this wasn't the worst Manchester United team in history in a back four. It was a poor team going nowhere under a manager who had lost his way, but as Amorim admitted, they weren't this bad.

They are this bad now because the head coach is too stubborn to change his methods. It got lost in yesterday's post-match comments, but Amorim's admission that he won't even put a second striker on when chasing the game felt pretty remarkable. He hasn't deviated from 3-4-2-1 for a single minute in any of his 15 matches in charge.

To be fair, Amorim took his share of the blame on Sunday night, but there's an argument he should shoulder more of it. He is committed to a system that is totally unsuited to the squad he has at his disposal. He's made it clear he won't change, and that's fine, but it does mean that he must take the majority of the blame for such a wretched run.

His comment about being the worst United team in history is part of his shock therapy. He tried to talk them into a relegation battle and is now making it absolutely clear how poor he thinks they are. He wants a reaction, but equally, the players might be keen to try a different system every now and again. It's hard to think of a more dogmatic coach in world football than Amorim.

That absolute belief may be proven correct, although not with this group of players. His comment could equally be aimed at Ineos, who have overseen three weeks of a transfer window without concluding a single outgoing or incoming. If Amorim is to succeed at Old Trafford, playing a 3-4-2-1, then he needs new players and lots of them.

United don't have the finances to do that, but they must have known that was necessary when approaching the 39-year-old. You can't have the football executive structure that United now have, then be taken by surprise when the head coach you appoint, who has only ever played one way, tells you the squad has gaps almost everywhere.

Amorim may be trying to shock his bosses into action as much as he's trying to get his players to respond. But when the latter group arrive at Carrington at the start of this week, with every back page carrying the damning quote from their head coach, the atmosphere is likely to be frosty.

But unless Ineos finds a way to loosen the purse strings in the next two weeks, the two groups are stuck together. Amorim isn't going to change, but it's hard to see how his players suddenly become experts in this system, either. The worst United team in history will be limping to the end of the season, and the headlines could get worse.