Ruben Amorim has sent a warning to five Manchester United players in his first interview since replacing Erik ten Hag as the club’s new manager.
Amorim sat down with MUTV ahead of his opening game in charge of the team as the Red Devils travel down to Ipswich Town next Sunday on November 24.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Amorim spoke about his footballing philosophy, revealed his key priorities and explained why United’s Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo has nicknamed the former Sporting Lisbon boss ‘the poet’.
At one point, Amorim was asked directly about five United stars – Kobbie Mainoo, Alejandro Garnacho, Amad Diallo, Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro – with the interviewer pointing out the ‘excitement’ at the club over their collective potential.
Amorim responded by playing down talk of United being a long-term project and warned the five youngsters that their age cannot be used an an excuse for poor performances.
‘I don’t want to say that we need time because we are a young team,’ Amorim said. ‘They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for Manchester United. They should be because they are here.
‘We know it will take time and we will try to win time with the games. But we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. This is not on my mind. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That’s the goal.’
Quizzed about his footballing philosophy and key priorities, Amorim added: ‘In one word: team. The team is the most important thing for me. And if you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine.
‘But if I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity. If our players take the shirt, they will know that it is the Manchester United team.
‘Everybody thinks the same, running back, playing, enjoying. This is what drives me. I can say the popular thing, which is to win. Everybody wants to win and I want to win with my players, with the fans, but with an identity and one idea, that is the thing that I am focused on all the time.
‘We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games. But the most important thing for me is identity. So since day one we will start with our identity. Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot in our game model.
‘How to play, how to press, these small things, small details. You cannot go 100% on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity.’
Asked to explain why Ronaldo calls him ‘the poet’, Amorim explained: ‘It’s like a funny thing because when I speak, I think I speak from the heart. I think the people feel that it was something just to have fun.’
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