Ruben Amorim’s time at Old Trafford has been anything but plain sailing after the Portuguese tactician swapped Sporting CP for Manchester United last year.
Drafted in to replace Erik ten Hag, Amorim oversaw a historically bad Premier League finish and a disappointing Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Nevertheless the 40-year-old’s record in Portugal, where he revitalised Sporting and led them to their first league title in 19 years, and his frank assessments of United’s tribulations give plenty of reasons for optimism.
“The only way I know”
With the Red Devils’ form in the gutter, Amorim unsurprisingly came in for some strong criticism for sticking so staunchly to his signature 3-4-2-1 system.
The squad struggled to cope with its intricacies and routinely played badly, but there was little to no relenting in his dedication to the formation.
But in an interview with The Telegraph the head coach insisted that he is far from inflexible, stating: “I’m not the coach that is going to try – in that case to survive – to put an idea that is not mine.
“Since day one, it’s the only way I know what to do. But I changed so many things during my short career as a manager. When I see a different thing that works, I will use it. I copy so many things from other managers: the way they play, warm-ups. I stole warm-ups.
“So I’m not so stubborn, but I truly believe that to be a really strong team, we need to have a base. When the base is okay, we will start doing different things.”
Clicking into place
Despite clear problems at centre-forward and in goal, arguably the problem position for Amorim’s system was in the midfield, with the squad lacking pace and mobility at number 6 – something the club are looking to address with the likes of Douglas Luiz or Morten Hjulmand.
But with or without new signings, the Portuguese is confident that things will improve in that area – particularly after an accomplished performance from a Manuel Ugarte / Kobbie Mainoo pivot in the pre-season win over West Ham United last week.
“If look at the same players in these games, the pace is different. That is my feeling,” said the United boss. “I think it’s the time to train. That, I think, is clear. I think even the certainty of the movements can help a player to be faster. If you are thinking: ‘[Do] I jump, don’t I jump?’.
“We train and when they need to jump, they already know. So I [am ready to] start sooner – sometimes it’s by one metre, sometimes it’s one second. That is the tactical aspect and the physical aspect together.”
The proof will be in the pudding when United kick off their Premier League season against Arsenal later this month, and a slow start will not be tolerated.
But with a full pre-season under their belt’s Amorim’s squad should be more equipped to carry out his demands, and fans should have some reason to smile over the next few months.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
