Manchester United: Ruben Amorim’s departure shines spotlight on Jason Wilcox

In a rare media appearance, on the Inside Carrington podcast in early November, Wilcox explained how he deals with extreme stress and pressure at his job.

“My wife will know when I’m feeling down,” he explained. “When I regain my energy, I do it alone. The dog and I walk.”

We don’t know if the Wilcox family’s dog has been out more than usual over the past few days, but it wouldn’t be surprising if his owner needed to take a breather.

As a player, good enough to be an important part of Blackburn’s title-winning side in 1995, Wilcox says he was loud and energetic, but by his own admission this was a “different person” and he is naturally a “quiet guy”.

It has only been two full years since Wilcox joined Manchester United, first as technical director, then as director of football following the quick departure of Dan Ashworth.

But Wilcox knows that calm is not a word associated with the club, and in the wake of Amorim’s exit and the search for a successor, he has been thrust into the spotlight.

He could have expected that.

In the overall structure at Old Trafford, once you get past the joint ownership of the Glazer family and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, heavyweights such as CEO Omar Berrada, CFO Roger Bell and the Football Club’s board, Wilcox is in the highest possible position.

In addition to his appearance on the Insider podcast, another extended conversation with Wilcox is available for public viewing.

Although it came just days after the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in September, he fulfilled his commitment to speak at a 40th anniversary dinner for former United players.

Club officials believed it was a private event and Wilcox’s Q&A session at Old Trafford would not be released. However, it was filmed and uploaded to the Internet.

The ‘News’ item was widely reported at the time, including by BBC Sport.

“I really feel like the question is not ‘Will we win again?’ but ‘When do we win again?’” he told the crowd. “I pray that we have the opportunity to turn things around.”

Watching the full 13 minutes, there’s another snippet that Wilcox probably wishes wasn’t there as he speaks candidly about the difficulties of transitioning out of organized play after a 17-year career, when he retired in 2006.

“I wanted to spend time with my family, but then the phone stops ringing and you lose your identity,” he said.

“It’s like getting out of the army. You belong to something, you have your own routine, and then you don’t belong to anything.

“I’m a coach at heart. I’m a coach on the inside even though I know I have a different job now. That’s a strength in my role but it also causes me a little problem because I always want to interfere in what managers are doing.”