Ruben Amorim is too wise to get sucked into the wider talk about Manchester United. "You said it," he pointed out in response to a question about his team's improved form this month. "Three weeks." Three weeks ago, United went into a game against Sunderland, a side that has just beaten Chelsea and are sitting very nicely in a Champions League berth, amid reports Amorim was at risk of losing his job if his side had lost. Senior club officials strongly rejected the notion privately before the game and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has since done so publicly. But that was the backdrop. United won, one of those routine home victories that were commonplace in the glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson. Last week, they beat Liverpool at Anfield for the first time since 2016. Now they have overcome Brighton, who have made an art form out of beating United in recent years. After 11 months of almost relentless negativity, Amorim is suddenly presiding over a success story. By the final whistle of the 4-2 win against Brighton, United were fourth, with a positive goal difference. In relative terms, these are heady days. It feels like a very big corner has been turned.

Not so fast, says Amorim. "The team is playing so much better since we start this season compared to last," he said. "But you [journalist] said everything. It was three weeks ago. So, it can change in the next three weeks." Ratcliffe was at Old Trafford to watch this latest triumph. It is only the second time under Amorim that United have won three games in a row. Without combining the start of last season and the end of the one before, it is the first time they have won three league games in a row since February 2024 under Erik ten Hag. A notoriously blunt speaker, did Ratcliffe really mean it when he said Amorim needed three years to prove his worth, or was he just buying the former Sporting coach some time? It does seem Ratcliffe is on board with Amorim's vision. The improved results, Amorim says, are more helpful in offering a glimpse of a better future to the United fans.

"I never had that feeling of embarrassment, of what I was doing or not winning games," he said. "I always felt Jim believed and knew what we were doing. It is more with the fans. Facing the fans is different in this moment. But I feel the urgency of not losing this moment. Everything in football can change in one week." Amorim's words are wise. Yet there does seem to be substance in what United have delivered over the past three games. In beating Sunderland and Brighton at Old Trafford, they have secured home wins against two sides that have won at Stamford Bridge. No-one would dismiss Chelsea as top-five contenders, so why should United be different? Why should they be different when they have Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, jointly signed in the summer at an overall cost of £130m, bringing a drive and purpose to their attack which did not exist before. Both scored in this latest win. Cunha for the first time this season. Mbeumo now has five. Amorim was eager to praise both in their different ways.

"Matheus feels more confident the harder the game," said Amorim. "He wants the responsibility. Today he defended really well and when he has the ball I have no concerns. He was struggling about not scoring goals, he can try to hide but I understood. Bryan is a working machine, he is so good in transitions and his connection with Amad [Diallo] is really good. When we felt this player wants to come here no matter what, whether we were in the Champions League or not, we do everything to bring him here." As Amorim explained, his squad now suits his system far better. Yet there is more to it than that. Goalkeeper Sanne Lammens does not fit the 'system' but he doesn't inject a sense of panic in the rest of his team-mates and the crowd as Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir did before him. It is inevitable the young Belgian will make mistakes. But he looks generally solid and doesn't give the aura of some impending calamity when the ball gets near him. Matthijs de Ligt is not part of United's leadership group but he is leading the defence superbly. Skipper Bruno Fernandes had a quieter game but would have marked his 300th United appearance with a goal had it not been for an excellent reaction save from Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen in the second half. Casemiro, with a goal and an assist, had another great night. His rehabilitation – he has been given the Brazil captaincy back by Carlo Ancelotti – continues, having fallen amazingly far in the United pecking order at some point, even behind a youngster currently on loan at West Brom.

"The other guys need to look at Casemiro," said Amorim. "In the beginning he was behind every midfielder even Toby [Collyer] but he fought and worked and is back in the national team and is so important for us. It shows football can change really fast." It did not feel like it at the time, on that awful, embarrassing night at Blundell Park in August, but United's EFL Cup exit at Grimsby is now an advantage, just as it is they have no Europe to distract them this season. They have one home game in 50 days because there is nothing in midweek. They have a full week to prepare for the trip to Nottingham Forest next Saturday and another one before they go to Tottenham seven days later. As Amorim said, United must take advantage of such a forgiving fixture list. Ratcliffe has not been asked whether the upturn in fortunes is what he thought would happen but finally, he must be getting some pleasure from his £1bn-plus investment in his boyhood club. There is still lots of work ahead but it does feel like a corner has been turned.

And it isn't just the first team. Ratcliffe wasn't there but if he had been at Leigh Sports Village a few hours earlier he might have discovered the academy he has so harshly criticised is not too bad either, after their seventh win of the season kept United at the top of Premier League 2 with a 100% record and another of their summer arrivals, Paraguay's Diego Leon, scoring a wonderful goal.