Man Utd: Amorim demands ‘key’ target is met despite one ‘problem’; confirms ‘return’ of two stars

New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has revealed one “key” target he’s set his players ahead of Saturday’s match against Nottingham Forest.

The 39-year-old head coach has his fourth game in charge of Man Utd this weekend as his side host Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.

Amorim has had a mixed start at Man Utd. His team earned four points from games against Ipswich Town and Everton before they were deservedly beaten 2-0 by Arsenal on Wednesday night.

Following this result, the Red Devils are 13th in the Premier League and seven points adrift of the Champions League places.

There were positives for Amorim to take from the defeat to Arsenal and United’s new head coach has provided an insight on the “phases” that they must “follow” in the coming weeks. He’s admitted that the first step is the “easiest”.

“That is a key point for us,” Amorim said when asked about the improvements his side has made out of possession.

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“We also have to understand our supporters; in just two weeks and four matches, they just want to see effort. Then they want to see us win games. After a while with effort and winning games, they will want to see a dominant team.

“These are the phases that we have to follow. This one is the easy one, effort. Full sprint back, full sprint forward. Our focus is a lot on that.”

Amorim has also indicated that he’s “getting close” to knowing his best starting XI despite having one “problem” to overcome.

“You have an idea, but we have the problem of players returning without training, then we need to manage the load,” Amorim added.

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“You have to understand what kind of players you have. For example Bruno Fernandes, he was a little bit tired in the end against Arsenal but you know that he is going to recover very well.

“If you think about Manuel Ugarte, I’ve known him for so long and I know he needs a little bit more time.

“We are in that process of knowing the players and we are managing that. We are getting closer to an idea, yes.”

On United’s team news, he continued: “Jonny [Evans] is still not training. Victor [Lindelof] has returned to training but is not available for tomorrow. Maybe in the next game he will be available.”

“Licha [Lisandro Martinez] and Kobbie have returned so we are prepared for the game.”