Manchester United are gearing up for their Premier League clash against Bournemouth on Sunday with Ruben Amorim expected to make quite a few changes to his starting lineup.
That is because the Red Devils will face Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semi-finals next Thursday and the head coach has already said in the recent past that he will prioritise that over the English top-flight games.
Just as in the Wolverhampton Wanderers game, Amorim is likely to include quite a few academy youngsters in the team. But during the press conference, he stopped short of saying he will make multiple changes.
Instead he claimed his full focus is on beating the Cherries and for that he will select a strong team.
Team selection
“I don’t talk about Bilbao, I focus on Bournemouth. They way they perform against Bournemouth can change my mind for the next game. We need to win, that is all.”
“The focus is we have to face it and we need to have that feeling every game here is important and we have to win every game, important not to lose. Of course, you see the context.
“We are going to face this game with the best team, we had a full week to prepare, some of the players didn’t play against Wolves so recover the players is not a bad thing. I will try to prepare for this game and try and win the next one.”
But he added that he will have to prioritise if the club are to end the season on a high even though throwing too many youngsters into the deep end might not be the best for their development.
“It matters a lot, what I’m saying with our current squad you have to take a risk and choose the priority. I want the best players in every game and sometimes it’s hard for me to take a risk in every game but in this moment we have to make choices and I want to protect the young players.
“I don’t want to put everybody together in the same game so they can’t perform, I want to help the club and I am trying to help.”
He pointed to the fact that Casemiro, who was in the fringes, impressed him so much when given the chance that now he has become an integral member of the squad.
“Everything can happen. Casemiro is the best example. He wasn’t playing and then you see the last games he’s having a part, he’s performing quite well, he’s playing all the time, I like to change my mind, if they change my mind I like that, I want to put the best players in my team.”
Dalot injury
As far as injuries are concerned, the Red Devils have been struck by a huge blow with Diogo Dalot potentially ruled out for the rest of the season.
“Diogo Dalot is out. We don’t know how long he is going to be out but he is out for these next games. Amad is near, De Ligt is near. Ayden is not ready.
“There is a possibility (Dalot will miss the rest of the season) but we will see week by week. He has something in his calf muscle. He had a sequence of games he played all the time. We tried to manage but we had to protect players and Dalot felt something.”
The Portuguese has hardly missed a game this season and has been an ever-present feature, either on the left or on the right and now, Amorim will have to tweak his squad ahead of the season-defining clash against Athletic.
Naturally, he was also asked about Rasmus Hojlund’s form with the Dane being a huge disappointment this term. The 22-year-old has managed a mere three Premier League goals all season.
Once again, Amorim did not criticise him and claimed he is still improving and the goals will come.
On Rasmus
“A striker needs to score goals. We try to help him and he is trying really hard and he wants things so bad he makes it worse He created one situation against Wolverhampton and he is improving the small things. The goal will come.”
“But I showed him and the team that he’s so much better in connections, in one against ones and he’s improving with the small things. He needs to focus on that and the goal will appear. We try to explain how to improve.”
The 20-time English league champions have not won a Premier League game since the international break and Amorim was asked how the board have reacted to the team’s dismal form and whether they still have confidence in his methods.
“We have to win every game and every game is important. We have to put our standards, even without winning, really high. I feel the board understand the context and what we want to do. Our idea is really clear. I am critical because we are not winning games and we are Manchester United and near the bottom.”
Summer plans
The topic shifted to the summer window and the Portuguese was asked about the recent links with Matheus Cunha of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
“I will not say anything about Matheus because if I say one time, I will have to say it for any situation that is yes or no so I will not comment about that.
“You could say this is a conversation for the end of the week, but I have an idea which is clear because we have to do things early. But things can change until the end of the season.”
He further claimed that whatever happens, playing for a club like Manchester United is a huge pull for players.
“It’s Manchester United. What I feel is there are a lot of players that want to play for our club, if you look at our club in the moment with all the problems, changing coach, it looks a little bit of a problem but we have a clear idea and that’s the easiest part to explain for a player. It’s Manchester United and every player wants to play for Manchester United.”
When asked about the future of Marcus Rashford, Amorim explained, “All the players on loan will return and then the club will decide what to do at the end of the season. The talent of Rashford, the talent of Antony, they all have talent. We are really happy because if you put players on loan you want them to perform. That is good for us.”
Feature image George Wood via Getty Images
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