Manchester United have appointed Ruben Amorim as their new head coach, but the Portuguese boss has a serious job on his hands if he is to transform the Red Devils’ fortunes.
United currently sit in 14th place in the Premier League after recording just three wins from nine games. A clash with Chelsea awaits them on Sunday, with interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy set to be in the dugout for the meeting.
While we won’t get to see Amorim’s United side in action until after the November international break, there’s a few ways in which the former Sporting CP boss can start to bring success back to Old Trafford.
Here’s four jobs for Ruben Amorim to tackle at United.
If Amorim is to succeed at United, he must first enforce tactics and a style of play – two things the club have been missing.
The boss’ history in management proves he has no trouble instructing his teams to play the way he wants them to, often unleashing a strong presence in the dressing room.
Employing a ruthless press, an emphasis on possession and a mobile formation, Amorim has perfected a style of play at Sporting that allows them to dominate games and threaten opposition.
Having conceded just two goals from nine games this season, it’s a system that works for Sporting and should be brought to United.
In nine Premier League matches this season, United have scored just eight goals. To put that into perspective, league leaders and bitter rivals Manchester City have bagged 20 goals in as many matches.
Clearly, this represents a larger issue at United, but one that Amorim may be able to fix.
So far, only Alejandro Garnacho has scored more than once this season. But with Amorim at the helm, it may be players like Bruno Fernandes who excel in front of goal.
While Amorim doesn’t usually play with a conventional number 10, Fernandes could be given a new role as a centre-forward or become one of two midfielders in a double pivot.
Either way, with the team on the same page and more service being generated for those up front, goals should come more freely.
In the summer, United highlighted just six players they were unwilling to part ways with. If Amorim is serious about having an impact at the club, he must clear out some lingering deadwood and welcome talented stars he thinks will work in his system.
United backed Ten Hag throughout numerous transfer windows and the former Ajax boss brought many of his old players to Manchester last summer.
While these players managed just a handful of games under the Dutchman, the club must put their full faith in Amorim, like they did Ten Hag, to sign the players he wants in his side.
Fast paced centre-backs, ball-playing midfielders – Amorim knows the kind of players he needs and the club must trust him.
Recent sources revealed Ten Hag would often give his players extra training sessions as punishment for losing games, which could explain the constant mounting injuries at Old Trafford.
Leny Yoro had been on the books at United for no more than two seconds when he was ruled out of upcoming fixtures due to injury, Luke Shaw has recently faced yet another setback in his journey to recover from a calf injury – the list goes on.
The 2023/24 season highlighted the immense impact of United’s injuries, with the team often having nowhere to turn when players were unavailable.
Now, Amorim’s job isn’t to fix United’s injury woes, but if the boss can start preventing players from working themselves to exhaustion and invent a team with clear roles and responsibilities, the injuries may start to lessen.
