Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has urged his players to run more, in order to bridge the gap between themselves and their rivals who are challenging for top honours.
United are set to host Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Saturday, in what will be Amorim’s third Premier League match since his appointment as Erik ten Hag’s replacement.
The Red Devils will be heading into the match off the back of a humbling 2-0 loss at the hands of Arsenal in mid-week.
Amorim spoke to reporters in the embargoed section of his press conference and emphasised the need to run more. He also noted that United are a “massive club” and currently not a “massive team.”
The Portuguese coach said, “That is very clear. We are a massive club, but we are not a massive team. We know it, so not a problem to say it. We have to believe more. We have some good things, but you can feel that there is so much to do. We have to be better in the final third.”
When asked if fans need to manage their expectations over the next few months, Amorim replied, “That will not change due to the glory in the past. Our players have to understand that it is a difficult position. We are not the best team in the league, but our past is the best one in the league. We have a problem, but we have to focus on the little details.”
He added, “Impossible to win the Premier League without a team that doesn’t run. You can do a starting line-up with the best players on the planet, without running they also won’t win. We have to run like mad dogs, if not we won’t win.”
“The problem is can they cope with that? If they are used to it in training, they will do it in games. They can improve. You cannot be faster, but you can run more in training. They are professional athletes. Every coach has a different method of pressing.”
Amorim defended the recent decision by United’s players not to wear Rainbow jackets in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
It emerged that the United squad collectively elected not to wear the jackets before last weekend’s meeting with Everton, after defender Noussair Mazraoui refused to do so, because of his religious beliefs.
Amorim said about this, “It was a group decision as players, as it should be, and then there’s three difficult things to manage.”
“On one side it’s club values, and I think all can agree that it’s not an issue, but then you have religion, which you have to respect. It’s our values to respect other opinions. Then the third thing is the group thing – I won’t leave Nous alone, we’re a team. The majority of the players believe in one thing, but they saw one guy alone and said ‘let’s be together.’”
“It’s three things we have to manage and respect, so it’s a hard issue to address. I think we did it in a good way. We need to respect everything but we also respect the religion of Nous and his culture.”
When asked whether the players will adopt the same stance in the future, Amorim explained, “I don’t know if Nous is going to change his religion and his beliefs. I don’t know. We will address at the time if it comes, but it’s a really hard decision. But there’s no doubt what this club believes and fights for.”
United vs. Forest kicks off at 17:30 GMT.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
