Fernandes gives bleak assessment of Amorim system at Man Utd: ‘It’s not working’

Bruno Fernandes insists what Ruben Amorim is trying to implement at Man Utd is “not working” despite their 3-2 win over Ipswich Town on Wednesday night.

The Red Devils put in another underwhelming performance to defeat the Tractor Boys at Old Trafford with Patrick Dorgu’s first-half sending off making things even tougher for Man Utd.

An own-goal from Sam Morsy, a close-range finish from Matthijs de Ligt and a header from Harry Maguire was enough to secure three points for the Red Devils as they cancelled out a Jaden Philogene brace.

Man Utd are now up to 14th in the Premier League table and 16 points away from the relegation zone, while Amorim has now won just five of his 16 league matches since joining the club in November.

Amorim has attempted to bring the high-intensity football that worked so well for him at Sporting CP to Old Trafford but his players have struggled to adapt to his playing style, philosophy and formation.

And Fernandes admitted that it’s feels like Amorim’s philosophy “is not working” at times but urged his Man Utd team-mates to trust in the process that his compatriot is trying to implement.

Fernandes told TNT Sports: “Me and H (Harry Maguire) have been here for a while already, so we know that we have to stick to what we’ve been trying to do in training [and] what we’re supposed to do.

“It could be that you could feel in moments that it’s not working, but for some reason, the manager wants us to do that – and if he wants us to do that… they (the coaches) watch so many games, they prepare themselves (for our matches).

“We have so many staff – not only the ones who came with him but the ones who were already here. We have great people behind the team to work on that, so if they do that in the right way, we just have to come on the pitch and show it. As I said, we need to have more confidence [and] be more brave to show our character and our qualities.”

Results and performances have been worse under Amorim than Erik ten Hag and Paul Merson thinks the Man Utd boss is now “the problem” at Old Trafford.

Merson told Sky Sports: “Ruben Amorim is the problem at Manchester United. The three at the back isn’t working the way he’d planned. So, change it.

“He’s not helping the players, he’s helping himself by just keeping it the way he’s been used to playing all his managerial career or most of it.

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“Top managers are flexible. They go, you know what, I don’t really want to play this way, but I’ve got to play to the players’ strengths, and then when I can get my players in at the end of the season, I’ll go back to playing the way I want to play. But, at the moment, they need to start playing a different way because they won’t beat Real Sociedad [their next Europa League match], playing like this.

“I don’t think they will move Amorim on either. They don’t have the money to start all over again. They’ll have to go with this man. But my worry is, we all know that they can’t play three at the back, we know they’re all over the place.

“They haven’t got the feet and the legs in midfield. So change it. He [Amorim] keeps on sending these players out to fail and, at the moment, that’s what’s happening every other week.”

Merson added: “This Man United team won’t win the Premier League. They need five or six players, so why not just play to their strengths, get through this season, and then go and get the players you need?”