Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim has told reporters that his players “cannot concentrate on a video for more than 12 minutes” in a worrying update.
The Red Devils have made a terrible start to the new Premier League season with just four wins in their first 12 matches.
Erik ten Hag was sacked just nine games into the new campaign with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking over for a few matches before Amorim’s appointment earlier this month.
Amorim started life as the new Man Utd head coach with a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich Town on Sunday before his side came from 2-1 down to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in a Europa League group stage clash on Thursday.
There have been concerns that Amorim’s attempts to deploy his 3-4-3 formation could be tricky without some of his own players and, with the busy festive period coming up, three matches a week are a regular occurrence, leading to fewer opportunities to problem solve on the training pitch.
And now Daily Mail journalist David Wheeler has revealed a slightly worrying update, although he claims Amorim was “joking”, with the Man Utd boss admitting that his side “cannot concentrate on a video for more than 12 minutes”.
Wheeler wrote on X: “Ruben Amorim has revealed that he is literally walking Manchester United’s players through training drills to try and speed up their learning of his football philosophy – joking that they cannot concentrate on a video for more than 12 minutes #mufc.”
Man Utd spent over £180m on five new players in the summer transfer window with Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Manuel Ugarte, Joshua Zirkzee and Noussair Mazraoui moving to Old Trafford.
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Not many have been successes to date, with Mazraoui being the main hit, and former Scotland international Craig Burley doubts De Ligt will be in Amorim’s side long term as he “can’t run”.
Burley said on ESPN: “What do we know? We know that De Ligt can’t run, he’s not the quickest. Those balls over the top of the left side, the centre-back gets caught out, then he struggles to get across and help because of his mobility.”
Former Man Utd striker Louis Saha has been impressed by Amorim’s “communication” skills so far and the “humility” that he has shown.
Saha told Slotswise: “The thing I have been most impressed with Amorim so far is his communication. I love the way he speaks about football and Manchester United. What he has said so far has shown humility, but also the confidence that is required to be a top manager.
“He is definitely someone who understands that some players need freedom to express themselves, while others need to be rigid and solid.
“We have so far seen some little signs of patterns that I really like, but the main thing we need is that consistency. We need Amorim to have the conviction to say we will play one system and give it time for the players to learn and master this and get it right, which is where I think ten Hag failed.”
