Ruben Amorim may not get a chance to execute his plans at Manchester United and he could be forced to work with players he wants out of the club for some time to come.
That’s the warning from Arsenal legend Nigel Winterburn, who believes the players Amorim wants to eject from his squad may be hard to move on if they are sitting on lucrative long-term contracts.
The Portuguese tactician has expressed his dismay at some of the performances Man United have put in since he replaced Eric ten Hag in November.
Amorim’s very public criticisms prior to last Sunday’s battling 2-2 draw against Liverpool that his players are “anxious and sometimes afraid” when they take to the field were backed up by his confused response to their dramatically improved level of performance at Anfield.
“I want to see my team play so much better but I think the most important thing here is the mentality. That is the key for everything,” said Amorim after the draw against Premier League leaders Liverpool.
“Today we were a different team, not because of the system, not because of the technical aspects or tactical aspects of the game but because we faced the competition in the way that we’re supposed to face every day, training and match.
“It doesn’t matter the place, the opponent. We need to face every day like that.”
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Amorim’s comments cemented the belief that he is keen to change the make-up of his squad with the addition of new faces, but Winterburn believes that task will not be easy ahead of United’s trip to face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium in Sunday’s FA Cup third round tie.
“Manchester United brought a manager in who they hoped to sort everything out, but it is going to take some time,” Winterburn told Football365 with William Hill.
“They have some quality players, but there has been something lacking there for a long time now and Amorim has found that out very quickly.
“Whether it is a lack of understanding of how to be organised as a team and a lack of application to give 100 per cent effort and working as a team.
“I’ve looked at Man United for the last few seasons and it is clear that something is missing, but they still have players who can hurt you on an individual day.
“United played really well at Liverpool, but Man United supporters will not accept them playing well for one week and then being off-it for the next five matches.
“It’s all very well saying United need to get rid of a load of players, but it’s very difficult to get them out when they are on big contracts and that might be what Amorim needs to do before he can bring in his own players.
“Bringing in new players without your wage bill exploding is a challenge. Players that he thinks he doesn’t want or who are disruptive, how quickly can he get them out of the club.”
United boss Amorim may hope to be active in this month’s transfer window, but Winterburn is not expecting his old club to splash the cash this month despite some injury concerns for manager Mikel Arteta.
A serious hamstring problem has sidelined key attacking player Bukayo Saka, with their defensive injury list also a major concern.
“Losing Martin Odegaard for a long period was a big blow at the start of the season and now Saka is out for a couple of months,” he added.
“Then you look at the defence and I’ve never seen anything like it in terms of the number of players Arsenal have had out.
“Moving Thomas Partey out of midfield and into a right-back role was evidence of the kind of defensive problems Arteta is battling and you don’t get any continuity when you play don’t play with the same defensive partners every week.
“Considering the injuries, Arteta has done a good job as they are right up there with Liverpool and even though they have a game in hand, six points is not a massive gap.
“They are in the mix for trophies again, but I don’t expect Arsenal to do too much. I certainly don’t think they will panic buy. Arsenal have got a bigger picture with Mikel Arteta and he is not the type of manager who will just fill gaps due to the current injury situation.
“The debate is always about the centre-forward role and whether they need to bring someone in, but I wouldn’t expect that to happen in January. That’s always a longer-term plan and it tends to happen in the summer window.”
