Ruben Amorim says he is a “dreamer” and the “right guy at the right time” for Manchester United as he dismissed any notion he had just inherited the impossible job.
Facing the media for the first time as United’s new head coach before his opening game away to Ipswich Town on Sunday, Amorim cut a confident, charismatic figure as he vowed to make the club a major force again.
“No, of course not, I don’t believe that,” Amorim said when asked if he had taken on the “impossible job”.
“Call me naive but I truly believe I am the right guy in the right moment. I could be wrong but the world still will turn, the sun will rise again, I don’t worry about that. I truly believe I’m the right guy for this job.
“I think the answer to that question [about an impossible task] can be found in the past, about impossible things that can happen.”
Amorim, 39, is United’s sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013 after winning the last of the club’s 20 league titles.
‘You guys don’t believe in these players but I believe’
He takes over a squad who are 13th in the Premier League, albeit just four points adrift of the top four, and a group of players who chronically underperformed under his predecessor Erik ten Hag.
But Amorim says he is confident he will get them firing as he urged the squad to prove their critics wrong.
“I’m a little bit of a dreamer, and I believe in myself, I also believe in the club,” he said. “I think we have the same idea, the same mindset, so that can help, but I truly believe in the players also.
“I know you guys don’t believe a lot in these players but I believe a lot. We have room to improve, I want to try new things. You guys think it’s not possible – I think it’s possible. We will see in the end.
“I don’t know how long it will take. I know when you are in Manchester United you have to win games. So I will not tell you that I need a lot of time. It’s a great league, it’s the strongest league in the world and we have to improve a lot to try to win it. So what I can say is we have to win games to win time and then to win titles.
“I understand that we will need more than two and a half years, we will have to win something somewhere, but in two years you can understand if you want to continue in this path or you change.”
Vow to assert style of play
Amorim will introduce a change of system, starting against Ipswich, by playing a back three that brought him two league titles and other successes at Portuguese club Sporting. And he has promised United fans they will see a clear identity and style of play after a decade of muddled ideas.
“As a coach, you have to choose one way or another. I choose always 100 per cent our way,” he said defiantly. “I prefer to risk a little bit but to push in the first moment. If they [the players] feel that, from the first day, I believe so much in our way of playing, they will believe, too. So there are no second doubts, no second way. It’s one way and we are going to do it. It’s not evolution or revolution, it’s a change in the way we play football.
“We will adapt some players because we don’t have the right profile. This team was built for a different system. But it’s the same thing playing with five or four, the principles are the same. The positioning is a little bit different.
“Maybe on Sunday you will see the starting XI and not feel a lot of change. But you will feel it in the game during the positioning, in the way they receive the ball, covering the ball, you will see some changes.
“You can see even this year and last year sometimes they have a bad first half and then in the second half without any tactical change, they will turn up and change things. They have to find the mindset to play this way through all the game.
“We can’t play defensively, we have to want the ball, then you have to look at what type of league we are in. The people here like intense attacking football. There are a lot of physically strong players that are also talented.
“Therefore, that’s what we are going to look for – to link the coach’s idea with that of the club. A dominant club that looks to win all their games and be protagonists.”
‘Hard work and you have to believe in the new idea’
Amorim said there were areas he hopes to drive immediate improvement, not least by getting the players to track back better and stop turning over possession so easily and frequently.
“I think we lose the ball too often and we have to keep the ball,” he said. “We have to be better running back. I think that is clear for everybody. And we have to be very good in the details.
“Sometimes we are hoping to change a lot of things – big things – but we are here to improve on the small things: the way we see football, play as a team, understanding the game in one way. That is the focus. I can tell you in the small things I can help a lot these players.
“Of course everybody is excited, but they are open to different things. It’s the only thing I ask: hard work and you have to believe in the new idea. And I felt that. Until they prove me wrong, I believe in the players.”
Amorim, revealed that he had spoken to his compatriot and mentor, Jose Mourinho, the former United manager, whom he spent a week shadowing at the club’s Carrington training base six and a half years ago.
“He sent me a message, he told me it’s a lovely club, a big club, with lovely people and that is correct, it is,” Amorim said. “But a lot of things have changed, we are in a different building now – we are building a new one – I’m a different guy. I was learning at the time and I hope to teach my players but the club is still big, it is still the best club in England and we want to win.”
‘The final word on transfers should be the manager’
Recruitment has been a huge issue for United over the past decade but Amorim said he would work closely with sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox and have an input on transfers.
“I think it has to be all together, because if you are a coach that is coming here and already chose the players he could be wrong,” he said. “Everybody has to work together and for that we have to improve the process on recruitment – the data, the profile of players we want – but I have to have a strong position on that because I am the coach… so I think it’s all together but the final word should be the manager.
“Not because it’s your right but your responsibility. Because in the end, the result is on me, so I think it’s all together to improve the process of recruitment, I have to understand the league – that is important – and when everything is aligned, all the ideas, everybody is on the same page, we can buy and sell players.
“I’m saying here it’s not the final [say] but I have a great responsibility when we choose players because this is something that should be done this way. I’m the manager, the head coach, so I have to choose the players.”
Meanwhile, United first-team coach Darren Fletcher has had his touchline ban for ranting at the officials during United’s 2-1 win over Brentford last month reduced to two matches from three and his fine dropped from £7,500 to £6,000. He will complete his suspension against Ipswich having already served the first game of his suspension in the 3-0 win over Leicester.
03:01 PM GMT
Next up, Ipswich
I think it’s fair to say that Amorim passed his first test with flying colours. He said all the right things, coming across as humble, yet authoritative, giving his new charges just the right amount of praise and belief to boost their confidence while at the same time letting it be known that any slackers will be given short shrift on his watch. There is an assuredness and steely determination behind his warm smile.
All of which will count for little it United lose to Ipswich on Sunday. On that note, Jamie Carragher has written an insightful preview on what we can expect from what must be the most eagerly anticipated encounter at Portman Road since Cologne’s visit in the 1981 Uefa Cup semi-final.
Amorim will be taking on Jason McKenna, who knows more about the inner workings of Manchester United, than most, as Jason Burt can attest.
02:39 PM GMT
Amorim clear on who’s the boss
United has been a huge problem for the club over the past decade. Amorim is clear he will not be the one picking all the players but he was also adamant he will have “the final word” on transfers and that it is imperative given the buck in terms of results ultimately stops with him. That chimes with the club’s view of things – the head coach having clear input in the decision-making process.
“I think it has to be all together, because if you are a coach that is coming here and already chose the players he could be wrong. Because this is a football club that will be here for a long time and you as a coach don’t know that,” Amorim said. “Everybody has to work together and for that we have to improve the process on recruitment, the data, the profile of players we want, but I have to have a strong position on that because I am the coach.
“I know how to play, so I think it’s all together but the final word should be the manager. Not just because it’s your right but your responsibility. Because in the end, the result is on me, so I think it’s all together to improve the process of recruitment, I have to understand the league – that is important – and when everything is aligned, all the ideas, everybody is on the same page, we can buy and sell players.
“I’m saying here, it’s not the final [say] but I have a great responsibility when we choose players because this is something that should be done this way. I’m the manager, the head coach, so I have to choose [select] the players.”
02:35 PM GMT
Amorim oozes confidence and charisma
If I had two words to describe Amorim in his first press conference as United’s new head coach it would be confident and charismatic. The difference in his communications skills to Erik ten Hag were evident from the moment he opened his mouth.
“I am a little bit a dreamer and I believe in myself and I believe in the club,” he said. Amorim held the room, captivated it even. It is going to take a lot more than words to turn United around but this was a persuasive, commanding first appearance from the Portuguese.
Take his answer, for example, when asked where he felt United could improve in the short term, where the quick wins were. “If you want to speak about the team we lose the ball too often and have to keep the ball,” Amorim said, doubtless to universal agreement from United fans everywhere.
But it was his next answer that underlined his ability as a communicator. “We have to be better running back, I think that’s clear for everyone,” Amorim said, with a chuckle and a wide smile as he invited the room to nod along in approval. They did.
He was clever, too – he managed to give the players his steadfast backing and show them he will protect them when others do not at the same time as throwing down a challenge to them. “I know you guys don’t believe in these players but I do – you guys think it’s not possible, i think it’s possible,” he said. “I believe in them, they are open to different things, hard work and they have to and until they prove me wrong I believe in them.” Note the “until they prove me wrong” caveat. In other words, you will get your chance – now take it.
Perhaps most significantly, Amorim said there would be no wavering on his style of play, his identity. United have been a muddled mess for a decade and Amorim was clear they if a coach does not believe in a clear system or is unsure what it should be, the players will pick up on it.
“As a coach you have to choose one way or another, I choose always 100 percent our way,” he said. “I choose to risk a bit. If I believe so much in our way of playing, they will believe too. There is no second way.”
02:18 PM GMT
‘I choose to risk a bit’
Amorim is clear he will not be compromising on his style of play or identity?
“As a coach you have to choose one way or another, I choose always 100 per cent our way. I choose to risk a bit but to push in the first moment.
“If they they [the players] feel that since the first day that I believe so much in our way of playing, they will believe too. So, there is no second doubts, no second way. It’s one way, and we are going to do it.
“We will adapt some players because we don’t have the right profile. This team was built for a different system.
“But it’s the same thing playing with five or four [at the back]. The principles are the same. The positioning is a little bit different.
“Maybe on Sunday you will see the starting 11 and not feel a lot of change but you will see it in the game and the positioning or where they receive the ball.”
02:13 PM GMT
‘We have to be better in defence’
Amorim is very clear of which areas he feels the team need to improve in the shorter term.
“If you want to speak about the team we lose the ball too often and have to keep the ball better. We have to be better on running back I think that’s clear for everyone. And we have to be better in the defence, people talk about changing big things but I think changing the small things, in the small things I think we can make a difference.”
02:09 PM GMT
‘You have to believe’
Amorim will give the players every chance to prove to him they are up to the challenge.
“I know you guys don’t believe in these players but I do – you guys think it’s not possible, I think it’s possible.
“You have to believe – I believe in them, they are open to different things, hard work and they have to and until they prove me wrong I believe in them.”
02:07 PM GMT
‘It is not the impossible job’
Amorim, it is fair to say, is not short of confidence in his ability to get United back on top where so many others have failed.
Is it the impossible job? “No of course not, I believe that, call me naive, I believe I’m the right guy in the right moment, I’m not worried about that, I truly believe.”
Perhaps it is the success of his fellow countrymen in English football that has stoked his self-confidence?
02:03 PM GMT
Amorim: I am a dreamer
Amorim is now up and answering his first questions.
“It’s bigger than what I am used to, bigger than Sporting, but I have a lot of help, I am happy and I feel at home.”
“I am a little bit a dreamer, I believe in myself, I also think the club is the same, we have the same mindset. I believe a lot in these players. We have room to improve. I want to try new things. You might think it’s possible, I think it’s possible, we will see in the end.”
01:59 PM GMT
Arteta: Saka and Calafiori back in training
The managers are all presenting a united front in heralding Guardiola’s contract extension as a good news.
Eddie Howe says Guardiola has “revolutionised” management in the Premier League and set the standards for everyone else to follow. Mikel Arteta says he is “very happy”. “If it was what he wants then I am happy because I want the best for him.” When asked whether it meant it might take him a little longer for Arsenal to win the league he said: “We can only do what is up to us and we have to be at our very best to try to achieve what we want. But the others can too, it is not our decision.”
Team news for Arsenal is largely positive. Although Ben White will be out for a number of months. “He’s had different kinds of struggles,” said Arteta. “It’s never been the same thing but we had to make a decision. It hasn’t really improved in the last few weeks. We know that Ben is going to push every boundary but it got to a point that we had to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery. He agreed with that and obviously that’s going to keep him out for a few months. We have to see how he reacts to the surgery. I don’t expect it to be half a year, but I cannot say how long exactly.”
In better news for Arsenal fans Leandro Trossard is OK, despite picking up a knock playing for Belgium, Jurrien Timber is well, and Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are back in training, although he said “partial” training, keeping it cagey as is his wont.
01:51 PM GMT
Guardiola: ‘Kovacic out for a month’
On the other side of Manchester Pep Guardiola has been speaking in what has been an eventful 24 hours for the city. The Manchester City manager signed a two-year extension at the Etihad Stadium yesterday in a welcome boost for the champions, following weeks of speculation.
Guardiola has suffered four successive defeats in all competitions for the first time in his career and said that this sequence of results was one of the reasons he decided to stay. He has said that even if City were to be sanctioned in the event that they were to lose their ongoing ‘Trial of the century’ he would stay on at the club. In short, he is not going anywhere any time soon, and he signed a two-year extension, partly, he said “so we do not have this same ‘Is Pep going to stay?’” drama at the start of next season as well.
In terms of team news Guardiola said that Mateo Kovacic will be out for up to a month after picking up an injury on international duty, which is yet another blow to their defensive-midfield options in the absence of Rodri, but John Stones and Nathan Ake are back in training.
01:32 PM GMT
Release the hounds!
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of Ruben Amorim’s first pre-match press conference as manager of Manchester United.
The 39-year-old left his post as head coach of Sporting last week, having guided the Portuguese club to their first title in 19 years, backed that achievement up with another title and left them well set for a hat-trick, given they are top of the Primeira Liga with 11 wins from 11.
Taking over at Old Trafford should be a cakewalk then, right..?
Amorim’s first match in charge will be a trip to Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon, but ahead of that assignment he faces the equally daunting challenge of addressing the English press pack.
Indeed, today he will be speaking not just with the national media, but also hordes of international journalists who have inundated United’s press office with requests to attend today’s conference. For Amorim it will be his first experience of the unique global glare that this unique club attracts.
Telegraph Sport understands Amorim, unlike his predecessors, will not be armed with an enormous war chest to solve United’s problems, so it will be interesting to learn is whether Amorim offers up any clues as to how he intends to set up his team. Will it be the 3-4-3 formation that has brought him success to date, or will he decide not to against tinkering with the 4-2-3-1 to which United’s players have grown accustomed, with limited success, under Erik ten Hag?
Also what has he made of his players gallivanting around the world during the international break much to the chagrin of certain former players and why has he left such a good thing at Sporting for the madness of Manchester United? All, or at least, some of the answers to these questions, will be revealed shortly.
