'It will change my life but will not change me!' Ruben Amorim promises to stick to his guns during Man United spell before revealing he was suspended from football twice so is 'not just a nice guy'

1
Ruben Amorim has vowed to stick to his guns as Manchester United boss after taking over from Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

The Portuguese arrived from Sporting Lisbon last month with the Red Devils at a lowpoint, finding themselves 14th in the Premier League following a horrendous start to the season.

After his appointment, Amorim spent a further three matches at his old club as United were unable to remove his notice period, giving him a chance for a perfect send-off with a hat-trick of victories.

The 39-year-old started off with a tough draw at Ipswich in the Premier League before coming from 2-1 down against Bodo/Glimt to win 3-2 in the Europa League four days later.

His United side finally burst into life on Sunday as they cruised to a 4-0 dismantling of Everton courtesy of Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee.

But he faces his toughest challenge yet on Wednesday, facing off against an Arsenal side who have scored 13 goals in their last three games while beating Nottingham Forest, Sporting and West Ham.

Ruben Amorim has vowed to stick to his guns as Manchester United boss after taking over from Erik ten Hag

The 39-year-old told the BBC's Mark Chapman that the job would 'not change' him

The Portuguese followed up two tough opening matches with a 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday

Speaking ahead of the clash, Amorim told the BBC's Mark Chapman: 'I believe I am the right guy. I think [the job] will change my life but will not change me.

'I'm really happy, stressed a little bit but like all the coaches, you must be stressed and be feeling the weight of the job but I do feel like I'm in control of the situation.

'I don't control the results but I know what to do.'

The new boss explained why he believed United fans already felt a connection towards him despite being less than a month into the role.

'Maybe because I'm a little bit of an emotional person and I can transmit that even in interviews,' he said. 'Maybe because I'm different from the last coach. And also because they believe I am the right guy.

'People always think the next guy is the right guy.

'As a coach you can be so good with tactical and technical stuff but if you don't have emotion you cannot have a connection with the players and cannot do anything with a football team.

'I'm a Latin guy and I'm just like that.'

Amorim also revealed why he is such an emotional person and the secrets behind his formation

Marcus Rashford burst back into form by scoring two goals against the Toffees at Old Trafford

New signing Joshua Zirkzee celebrated a rare appearance by also nabbing a brace on Sunday

Amorim gave an insight into his preferred 3-4-3 formation which he has already begun implementing at Old Trafford.

'One thing is I know my structure very well,' he said. 'So through the years I have focussed on just one thing that can adapt to everything.

'In the end it is a little bit [easy to get found out] and then with time we can change in the middle of the game.'

The former Sporting boss was also keen to stress he was not simply a 'nice guy' and fans could expect a level of resilience from the new man at the helm.

'I remember almost everything about my coaches and that has helped me because I remember all the situations.

'I had different coaches with different mentalities and different ways of playing.

'I had some problems with coaches. I was suspended two times so I'm not just a nice guy.

'All these situations help me understand every player in my time.'

The new manager's clash with Mikel Arteta's Arsenal will be his toughest challenge as boss yet

The Spanish boss has six of his nine league meetings with United since he took over at Arsenal

Amorim took over from the beleagured ten Hag as boss after the Dutchman lost to West Ham

Previewing the Arsenal match on Monday, he added: 'It's the best team that we have faced by far, but the test is every game.

'If you see the last game [on Sunday], it was really tough. It was a 4-0 but if you see the game like I see it [it was tough].

'Everything now is a test - without so many minutes to train, trying to manage the number of minutes for a lot of players who cannot try to imagine one game.

'You have to know that some players have to be out of the pitch in 60 minutes or 70 minutes, so it's really hard. In this moment everything is a test.

'But Arsenal are at a different point of their team. They are in a different moment [to United].'

Arsenal have finished as close runners-up to Man City in the last two Premier League seasons and are looking to record a fourth straight win against United when they meet at the Emirates.

Arteta has won six of his nine league meetings with the Red Devils since taking charge and Amorim wants his side to forget that recent history in Wednesday's clash in the capital.

'It's important to be brave,' Amorim added. 'When I say brave, it's not pressing all the time higher, it's not the same.

Amorim singled out Noussair Mazraoui for praise after the Morroccan's good run of form

Leny Yoro has been injured for four months but looks set for a return under his new manager

Bruno Fernandes will be fit to face the Gunners after looking in some discomfort on Sunday

'We have to understand the game, the moments of the game and we need to have the ball. That is the key point because we want to have the ball.

'We want also to dominate some moments of the game because we know that in this match it's hard to control all of the game.

'If I have to say something, we have to be brave and to play the game.'

The Portuguese boss also took the opportunity to heap praise on summer signing Noussair Mazraoui, who has played across the backline since joining from Bayern Munich and has even been deployed in the number 10 role on one occasion.

The Moroccan has started on the right side of the back three in every match so far under Amorim, who has been impressed by the 27-year-old.

'In training, I don't see him a lot but in games he's a top player because he understands the game,' Amorim said.

'He knows how to attack, he's very technical. He's very good defensively, very good at one-on-one. He's a modern player. I think he's the future of our team.

'When you think about him, you think "we need more like Nous" that can control the tempo, they are really, really good and comfortable with the ball, and they understand the game.'

The new man at the helm kicked off his spell at United with a hard-fought draw against Ipswich

Amorim followed this up with a comeback win against Bodo/Glimt at Old Trafford four days later

United, who have been plagued by injuries this season, look set to receive a boost as £52m signing Leny Yoro looks set to finally make his debut after being rules out since August.

The French centre-back fractured a metatarsal in a pre-season friendly against the Gunners in Los Angeles in July, just a week after arriving at Old Trafford from Lille.

The 19-year-old has resumed training in recent weeks following surgery, and his new head coach revealed that Yoro could be available to make his competitive debut against Arteta's side.

'Maybe Leny Yoro will be in the squad, we have one more training session to see it,' said Amorim. 'I feel he is in a good moment now, his fitness is better, I think he is going to be in the squad.

'I think he's a special talent. You have to be careful in this first moment, we didn't have too many training sessions together. He is training not alone, a small group of players.

'He is really fast, a modern defender and that is good when you want to press huge one versus one, he is good at that. But I have to be careful, we have to manage the loads, the minutes in the beginning, but I am excited to see Leny Yoro playing.'

Amorim also confirmed that Bruno Fernandes will be fit to face Arsenal despite having an ice pack on his ankle after Sunday's 4-0 win over Everton.

'Now he's fit to play, I see him already this morning,' added the United boss. 'He's fit to play, he's a guy that doesn't need a lot of rest, you know him, so he is prepared to play. The rest we have to see, some players are tired and we have to assess tomorrow in training.'

Click here to read article

Related Articles