Groundhog Day for Wilcox? Revisiting Man Utd's dramatic last trip to Elland Road

Jason Wilcox back under pressure following Lisandro Martinez's recent comments; Wilcox was in spotlight the last time Man Utd travelled to Elland Road in Ruben Amorim's final game; Watch Leeds vs Man Utd live on Sky Sports on Super Sunday from 1pm; kick-off 2pm

Manchester United go into Sunday's game at Elland Road in a position they are all too familiar with. Under pressure.

Michael Carrick's under pressure. The players are under pressure. And perhaps there is no one more under pressure than Jason Wilcox.

The club's director of football was the target of Lisandro Martinez's post-match outburst following the defeat to Atletico Madrid in midweek, with the Argentine singling him out for not doing enough to prepare for the club's return to the Champions League.

Martinez issued an apology on Thursday after internal talks, and Wilcox still has the backing of his bosses at Old Trafford. But he must be starting to think there is something in the Yorkshire water as he was also the centre of controversy the last time Manchester United visited Leeds.

Rewind back to the start of the year. The two sides played out a rather unremarkable 1-1 draw. Matheus Cunha cancelling out Brenden Aaronson's opener. However, the big talking point came during the post-match press conference.

Ruben Amorim was the man in the away dugout that day, and defended his position in sensational fashion.

"I came here to be the manager of Manchester United. Not to be the coach. That is clear," Amorim reiterated to journalists.

"I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it's not [Antonio] Conte, it's not [Jose] Mourinho, but I'm the manager of Manchester United and it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change."

Two days later, Amorim was sacked. Then came the details of the explosive meeting with Wilcox that appeared to be the beginning of the end.

Ahead of the trip to Elland Road, a meeting was held between the two where Amorim's tactical approach was discussed in detail.

Sky Sports News understands Amorim's 'emotional and inconsistent behaviour' was a key factor in the decision and a refusal to adapt and evolve his preferred 3-4-3 system led to a breakdown in confidence.

Ultimately, the decision to fire Amorim was one that put an end to in-house tension, but not one that would cause fireworks among the fanbase. Results under the Portuguese had not been convincing across his 14-month tenure.

That would be further justified when Carrick came in and secured Champions League football during his interim spell. He was subsequently handed the permanent gig by Wilcox and co.