By Manchester United head coach, Ruben Amorim says not even the Pope could persuade Him to change his formation, Amorim says He hopes to get the time to show how His system will evolve.
No, no, no, He said, “Not once have I thought about changing, not even the Pope can make Me, it will not change,” this is My job, this is My responsibility, this is My life, so I will not change that, but I will change the system, there will be an evolution but we need to make all the good steps.
Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim is yet to win successive Premier League games with the club
However, He is concerned about what His squad would think if He changed now and hopes He will be in charge long enough for it to happen, He feels if He bows to pressure, it will undermine Him in the eyes of His players.
“If I am a player and I have a coach with a lot of pressure to change the system and I’m going to change in this moment, they will look at Me in a different way,” He said.
When You think about the impact of any decision on the team, everything is important, this will have an evolution, I’m doing things my way, some guys do it in a different way, it will change, I hope to have the time to change.
Another turbulent week at the club following the Manchester derby defeat at Etihad Stadium has included a visit from minority shareholder, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who flew into the Carrington training ground on thursday in His helicopter, United officials have said the visit was ‘pre-planned’ rather than any sort of emergency summit.
Amorim certainly adopted a light hearted tone when he was asked to explain what had been discussed, “He was offering Me a new contract,” laughed the former Sporting boss, whose side have managed just one win from four Premier League games this season and been knocked out of the EFL Cup by League Two Grimsby.
Amorim has maintained He will stick with his 3-4-2-1 formation despite having the worst win percentage of any United boss since the Second World War and overseeing their worst start in the Premier League for 33 years.
United have amassed the fewest points of any ever present Premier League side, averaging one per game, with a 13 goal difference, since Amorim was appointed last November.
One of the issues with Amorim’s system has been in midfield where Bruno Fernandes has played in a deeper role, Amorim believes He is still having an impact higher up the pitch and is integral in making them dominate games.
“Bruno wants all the freedom in the world but even when He played a No 10 role, it’s getting the ball back,” He said, “Maybe He’s not having the same freedom to get inside the box but He’s getting there and is near the box and can have shots.
I want Bruno to be more deep to have more possession to try and control more of the game, We are doing that, sometimes we miss Bruno a little bit in front, maybe because Matheus Cunha is not there, I’m trying to balance the team and imagine the game.
“I see Bruno [doing] well, He’s frustrated because He’s not winning games, sometimes He likes to go further but He has a job to do, the important thing is not Bruno playing well, it’s the team playing well and winning football games.”
Amorim believes the data is showing improvement although believes they lack belief compared to Liverpool, who have been winning games late on.
Liverpool are winning all the games in the 90th minute, it’s something about the teams that are winning to have that feeling that something is going to happen, sometimes with us, I feel the opposite, We are playing well but something is going to go wrong.
“We need to change that but just with wins, if You look at the goals against Man City, Fulham, We scored against Burnley, We are good in the game but then We draw, all these moments I think We can do better, It’s Our fault.”
He said: “It’s belief, confidence, aggression, it’s everything, sometimes what We call luck, it’s the way We play the game with more belief, speaking before Chelsea’s visit to Old Trafford, Amorim says He understands the urgent need to win games, Amorim knows the matches against Chelsea, Brentford and newly promoted Sunderland have the potential to change the narrative around Him.
The return from injury of £62.5m forward Matheus Cunha is likely to see skipper Bruno Fernandes again start in a deeper midfield role against Chelsea.
Alejandro Garnacho returns to Old Trafford for the first time since His £40m move to Chelsea after being told He could leave at the end of last season and was not training with Amorim’s first team squad during pre season.
Asked if the transfer could backfire on Man Utd, Amorim said: “I’m not concerned about that, I just want to win games, I don’t care who is playing for the opponent or what people are going to say in the end if the player plays well, they are good players and they play well if things happen, My only focus is winning the game.”
