Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has given one reason for head coach Ruben Amorim finding his first month in charge “really tough”.
39-year-old Amorim was appointed to replace Erik ten Hag, who was sacked last month following United‘s miserable start to the 2024/25 campaign.
Man Utd did not have a distinct style of play under Ten Hag, but this has been the case following Amorim’s arrival. There have been positives from his start to life at Old Trafford, but they have suffered three straight defeats across all competitions.
The Red Devils are only eight points clear of the relegation zone after their 2-0 loss on Boxing Day against Wolves as they sit 14th in the Premier League.
Former captain Maguire reckons it’s been “really tough” for Amorim because he’s not “come in with a similar style” to Ten Hag.
“I think it’s really tough for the manager and his team coming in because it’s not like he’s come in with a similar style to the old manager,” Maguire admitted.
“They are the opposite in terms of what they demand and what they want, so it’s tough for them because they know they want to work with the team on the training pitch and improve things and the defending principles and the set piece principles.
“So it has been a tough month with games but again we don’t want to use it as an excuse. This club demands winning and at the moment we’re not. It’s not good enough for us and the fans.”
Maguire has also explained why he thinks rival Premier League clubs are “targeting” Man Utd at “set-plays”.
“When it keeps happening, you can’t really put it down to luck, but it’s tough to take that teams have scored twice from a corner,” Maguire added.
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“I think the Tottenham one’s a foul, that’s quite clear. I haven’t seen this one back.
“Sometimes, with set-plays you’ve got to hold your hands up and say you can’t do much about it, but there’s others where you’ve got to look at yourselves and improve on it. I think the Bournemouth one was tough – a great header, a great ball.
“Tonight, it’s disappointing to go down to 10 men, not really give them anything, look really solid in the second half, and to concede again [like that], especially the first of the game. Set-plays are so important in football matches and they decide games.
“A lot of the games when they are tight and 50-50 are decided with the first goal. The first goal has been a set-play far too many times against us, and it’s disappointing. How do we resolve it? Work more on the training pitch.
“I think teams now are maybe targeting our area of set-plays. The strange thing is that I don’t feel like we are conceding many chances from them. They’ve had a few set-plays tonight and we’ve dealt with them really well and then they’ve gone and scored from one.
“I think it’s about hard work, keep the belief and things will change. We have players who can defend the box well. They will change; we’ve just got to stick together.”
