“I don’t want to talk about it”: Ruben Amorim is clearly unsettled following pointed question from reporter

Ruben Amorim had his feathers ruffled by a reporter’s question ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash with Leeds United at Elland Road. Amorim was speaking in the embargoed section of the pre-match press conference, the first part of which is covered in our article here. Here is every word from this second section. The first reporter asked “Dominic Calvert-Lewin is on a great run of form at seven goals in seven games. Did you consider going for him in the summer?” Amorim replied “no, we have our targets and we try to execute our targets.” Why has Amorim only just realised he won’t have the players for his system? Then came a question that was clearly unwelcome. It was: “You said recently that with regard to changing your system, you’re now starting to understand that to play your three-four-three, you’d have to, in essence, have a lot of top players. You’re now starting to understand that it’s not possible. May I ask why you didn’t realize that when you first came into the club? Can you clarify what you meant exactly, please?” “I don’t want to talk about that. I just focus on the Leeds game,” he replied. The reporter pushed the point, saying “that’s interesting. It’s not like you, not to want to talk about it. Do you regret saying it maybe?” “No, but I don’t want to talk about it,” Amorim insisted. “Okay, so I’m going to try one more time,” the reporter said. “Looking at those comments, it seems a little – say that a year in, that you’re only just realizing that you won’t be able to get the top players. Has something changed in regard to budget or what you’ve been told? Did Jason Wilcox maybe talk to you about…’” “I don’t want to talk about that,” he answered gruffly. The United DNA The next question was: “You have scored actually quite a lot of goals after 75 minutes as a team since you came in. I think you got 22, you’re right towards the top of the league for that. But there’s often a sense sometimes in the games, particularly at home, the frustration at some of the subs, and maybe the fans perhaps feeling they should be taking a little bit more risk at certain moments, which historically is what this club has been built on, that gambling, that risk-taking. And not always in the Fergie and Busby years, even under the likes of Atkinson and Tommy Docherty in the ’70s. What’s your view on that? Do you sometimes look at games and think you maybe should have taken more risk? Or are you a different type of manager than that? What’s your view on it?” Amorim answered: “The first thing you spoke, the first thing is that we are creating and scoring more than most of the teams. That is a point. Then I understand the team better than anyone. Sometimes you have the supporters on your decisions. Sometimes you have to do what you think, and sometimes it’s hard for them to understand. But I know when I look at the pitch, I can understand which player is tired, which player is going to be, is going to struggle a lot if there is a one against one all the time.” “I just try to protect the team and just try to win games. Sometimes it’s the best substitution, sometimes it’s the wrong substitution. But I just try to do my best. But you said that. I think there is one team that score more goals than us. We create a lot. We have more shots than anyone. If we have something here completely different from last year is the way we attack. I think we need to improve the way we defend.” A question then came on the lack of depth in the squad this season due to the lack of European football. Amorim was asked “Is one of the factors maybe people need to recognize is that you’ve not always had loads of options on your bench?” The head coach responded: “I don’t like to talk about that, but it’s on there as an excuse. It was bad luck to lose Amad, Bryan, especially, and Bruno at the same time. They had more creation in the opportunities than the rest of the team.” “If you lose the three of them at the same time, any team in the world will struggle. And now Mount. But I’m not talking not in everyone. I’m just focused on the three guys that we have all the data, you have all the data, and you can sense that three guys create most of the chances for us. If you lose not one, but all three at the same time, of course, we are going to struggle.” “Then you have to put set pieces in that. Who is taking the set pieces is Amad, Bryan, and Bruno. So everything is combined, and we just need to acknowledge, and then it’s getting closer to have all these three players. So the important thing is to understand why we struggled in the last three games in creation and quality in the game. So I think it’s clear.” Money needed The next question was “I appreciate what you say about no players coming to you speaking about wanting to leave this January. But from a numbers perspective, if a player If you were to leave this month, would you expect them to be replaced this month because it’s a small squad?” “You already spoke about that,” Amorim said. “If you look at our squad, I think it’s impossible someone to leave. But they need to talk with Jason.” Finally, he was asked: “You just mentioned there about the step up you’ve made in terms of attacking, the number of goals you’ve scored this year compared to last year. Obviously, that’s where the bulk of your budget went in the summer that you signed three very good attacking players. Is it too simplistic to say that that area of the pitch is functioning well because of the investment and perhaps the other areas of the pitch aren’t functioning as well because it hasn’t had the same investment?” The boss replied “we could be better with the squad that we have, defending and not suffering goals like we suffer in the last minute of the first half against Wolves. That can change the dynamic of the game. Of course, we are scoring more because we have different characteristics. It help us to be more creative. But if you look at the way we defend, it’s not just the defenders. It’s defending as a team. It’s the urgency. I know that we could be better in that department without any investment. Thank you.” Featured image Matt McNulty via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Red Billy Red Billy is the managing editor of The Peoples Person, author of three books and two magazines and totally obsessed with football’s transfer market. Billy first saw United live in 1971, watching George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law, before becoming a League Match ticket book holder from 1975/76 and a writer since 1995. Billy still insists Matteo Darmian and Alex Telles could have made it at United given half a chance.