-Credit:BeanymanSports
Ruben Amorim has admitted every Manchester United player is “fighting” for their place in the team.
Amorim was appointed from Sporting Lisbon in November and there have glimmers of progress on the pitch as the team shifts to his philosophy, despite results continuing to be poor.
United delivered an impressive performance against the Premier League leaders Liverpool last weekend and each player involved emerged with credit, although the display did make supporters wonder why United can’t perform to that level consistently every week in the topflight.
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There was a chance Amorim would pick an unchanged team for the first time of his tenure against Arsenal in the FA Cup third round on Sunday to reward those who started at Anfield.
Amorim confirmed Altay Bayindir would start against Arsenal, though. Nonetheless, United’s head coach seems closer to settling on his strongest starting line up and he was asked whether he finally knows his best team in the embargoed section of his press conference on Friday.
“The best team depends on them,” said Amorim. “The rotation is different now, for example Manu [Ugarte] is playing more than Casemiro to give you an example. So you can see it by the selection that some of the guys are winning the position more. But for me the position is always open.
“It depends how they train and play. We are closer, we have games, we have the evaluation of the games and with the small training we have, you can get to understand the players better and how you want to play. Sometimes it is not the best player in the team but the player who can best do the position in the way I see it. We are closer to that now.”
Amorim continued and agreed the players are fighting for their futures as much as medals this season. “Yes – they have to do it and prove it not just with me,” he said. “The path with this team that in big games they cope and they can show a different way of competing.
“But sometimes we drop a lot how we compete with our aggression during the game, our defensive recovery and in some matches we see a different thing. We show this a lot with images because you can talk for hours but if you show a picture it is so much easier for them to understand.
“So they are fighting for their place in that team, all the players. That’s part of our journey together. We are getting to know each other, not so much with a lot of time to train but with a lot of games and a lot of losses – and that can change things. So we have to try to improve and especially to find these points.”
Amorim spoke ahead of facing Arsenal. -Credit:Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images.
The draw against Liverpool was a step in the right direction after a string of four defeats and Amorim reiterated the importance of securing results to show the team can be competitive.
“It’s not my methods. It’s about showing that we want to be competitive. We were not perfect,” said Amorim. “We need to show we can win any match. But we need to suffer. We need to run.
“I saw it [at Liverpool] because when the referee finished the game, some of my players were really tired and went down on the pitch. You don’t see that in all the games, so we have to focus on that detail.
“Sometimes it’s a little bit of luck. I remember against Nottingham we suffered in the first play. Against Bournemouth we were controlling the game – not a beautiful game – but then we suffered a goal and it was hard. I remember Liverpool, the first opportunity, Onana was able to hold the ball with a little bit of luck.
“Sometimes you need that bit of luck to continue to try to win the game. You play a different game. To be really clear, it’s not about convincing me or the players. For them, it is so clear: if they really want, we can win any match.”
United are the FA Cup champions and Arsenal are the competition’s most successful team, which means all eyes will be Sunday afternoon’s game at The Emirates between the two sides.
Sir Alex Ferguson famously lifted the FA Cup in 1990 when pressure was mounting on his position and Amorim is aware of United’s rich history in England’s oldest cup competition.
“It’s about the feeling of winning. That feeling can give you so much confidence. If you win one thing then you believe you can win more. That feeling is addictive,” explained Amorim.
“You feel it and then it’s really easy to follow that by trying to win again. I know that story [of Ferguson]. I think he saved his job, not by winning but by beating a strong opponent in an earlier round. They (the fans) were saying ‘Fergie out’ and then they won that game and then reached the final and won it.
“I know that. Maybe I will need that in the future, I don’t know. But I think it’s important for the future for the confidence of the players. But, for me, last year they won it, so it’s not just about that. It’s about proving in every game that you can win it, not just in the final, with a good pitch and a full stadium, but to win it when the storm is there against Nottingham or Bournemouth.
“For example, against Bournemouth. We did very good jobs against City and Tottenham and then in the third match that week, we dropped the levels of playing. We need to improve on that. Not in the big games, because I’m not worried about that, but to be consistent every day. That’s my biggest concern.”