Amorim knows he won’t get Arteta patience when Manchester United players are ‘found out’

Matt Stead
Sporting head coach Ruben Amorim embraces Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta
Ruben Amorim appreciates the work Mikel Arteta has done

Ruben Amorim has warned that Manchester United ‘will be found out’ and the Portuguese head coach only hopes to receive the same patience as Mikel Arteta.

Amorim was appointed as Erik ten Hag’s successor on a two-and-a-half-year contract in November and has started with a draw and two wins.

But even in the 4-0 victory over Everton there was clear and inevitable room for improvement, with Amorim sensing “a rollercoaster of performances” in his first few months, especially in a congested fixture list with little time to work on things in training.

Ahead of his biggest test yet by far, a trip to Premier League title contenders Arsenal, Amorim predicted many more difficulties at the start of his journey at Old Trafford.

“I want to say different things, but I have to say it again: the storm will come,” Amorim said.

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“We are going to have difficult moments and we will be found out in some games. And I know that, because I’m knowing my players and I know football. So I understand the difference between the teams.

“We are in the point that we are putting simple things in the team, without training. And you feel it.”

He used the Everton game as an example of a situation where a team posed Manchester United “problems” he could not simply rectify by giving tactical messages for Bruno Fernandes to send to his teammates.

“Against Everton, they were changing the way they were building up,” he said. “They are a very good team and we had a lot of problems, because you cannot change by calling one thing to the captain. We don’t have this training.

“So let’s focus on each game, on the performance, what we have to improve to win games. That is the focus. I know it’s hard to be a Manchester United coach and say these things in press conferences.

“We want to win all the time, no matter what. We are going to try to win, but we know we are in a different point if you compare us to Arsenal. It is what it is. We will try to win and go with confidence to win, but we know we need to play very well to win the next football match.”

Amorim spoke specifically about his opposite number in the Arsenal game, Arteta, who has benefited from time and patience after his own struggles early in the Emirates dugout.

“It’s an amazing job, sometimes coaches are just judged on the titles but what he’s been doing at Arsenal, I think it’s been amazing. He’s transformed the team,” Amorim said about Arteta.

“He’s brought in some youngsters that now are now big talents in this country. I hope to have the same mindset in the difficult moments, because I’ve watched this league for a long time. It’s a very good characteristic in Mikel, so I think he’s doing a great job.

“That is always important for a coach: to have that confidence.

“But we have to acknowledge that Manchester United is a little bit different. All the attention you guys are putting here all the time, so I know that sometimes it may not be possible to have all that time.

“So we will try to manage that and try to do things a little bit more fast, knowing that here there is massive attention and judgement every day.”

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