Ruben Amorim offered a brief, but fascinating, insight into how Manchester United will play under his management during a post-match interview on Tuesday night.
The 39-year-old, who is widely regarded one of Europe’s most exciting young coaches, will take charge of his first game at Ipswich Town on November 24 but will officially join on November 11.
It would be an understatement to say Amorim has a major job on his hands. So far, United have picked up just three wins from a possible 10 in the league, and have yet to record a victory in Europe.
Still, the Portuguese coach knows he has to adapt at Old Trafford and “play a different way” compared to how his Sporting team performed against Manchester City on Tuesday night.
For the majority of the first-half, Sporting relinquished possession to Pep Guardiola’s side. Half an hour in, City had 70 per cent possession and were 1-0 ahead thanks to a fine finish from Phil Foden.
City were eventually blown away by their Portuguese opponents in the second-half as Viktor Gyokeres continued his superb form with a headline-grabbing hat-trick.
But even after a 4-1 victory against Premier League champions Manchester City, a cool, calm and collected Amorim explained why he will have to “improve as a coach” at new club Manchester United as he admitted United cannot be so defensive.
“Now, after Sunday, I will start a new journey at a new club,” Amorim told TNT Sports. “We need to play these teams in a different way, we cannot defend like this. I have to improve as a coach.”
Tactical analyst and host of The Overlap Breakdown show @htomufc gave his take on Amorim‘s comments in the post-match interview.
He wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Seen a little bit of a panic about the adapt quote but this is most likely what he’s talking about – having so little of the ball, conceding so many box entries, not having too much of an aggressive front press but as he said he has to improve himself to coach this.”
Here’s how fans on social media reacted to Amorim’s comments.
One wrote: “A manager that is honest, understands where his team needs to improve, and actually acted upon it at half time adding an extra man in midfield? This is so refreshing.”
A second said: “He’s so aware of what he’s walking into, he’s already touched on how big the pressure is going to be, he’s now touching on the adaptations he’s going to have to make so we don’t play inferior in big games, he’s so aware of the sheer size of the job at hand, I love that.”
A third commented: “You know what. I like the honesty. Not trying to gaslight fans. Understands what the club is and the stature. I wish him the very best.”
A fourth wrote: “This is so refreshing to hear. Not once did I see Ten Hag coming up with words like this. First step towards success is self awareness,” and a fifth added: “He just seems so aware of what he’s walking into.”
Image credit: Getty
Thoughts on Amorim’s post-match interview on Tuesday night? Let us know in the comments.