Ruben Amorim has said he feels Patrick Dorgu’s anxiety every time the wing-back receives possession for Manchester United but stated the 21-year-old has “much time” to improve.
Dorgu has performed unevenly since becoming the head coach’s first signing when joining from Lecce for £25m in February. Amorim was asked about the Dane’s form and that of another wing-back, Diogo Dalot.
“When I see them training they are doing so much better than in games,” he said. “Then Patrick, when I see him playing for the national team, he’s scored a great goal against Scotland [this month], the decision that he made under pressure was completely different [to calmly sidefoot home] to the decision[s] he’s making in our team. You can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball. I can feel it, the anxiety.”
Amorim cited Dorgu missing a chance to equalise in Monday’s 1-0 loss to Everton as an example. “I remember the shot against Everton [dragging it wide],” he said. “That was easier than the decision that he had to make [against] Scotland – and I saw [his quality] when he played in Italy. But again, here [United] is different and sometimes the pressure is hard for them in the beginning, but he has time to improve.
“I just need to understand the context in trying to help them [Dorgu and Dalot]. They are far from their best, and they know it. Like a lot of players in our team, like myself. I just look at them, and think they have so much more to give. So let’s see this week if we can improve that.”
Amorim, preparing for Sunday’s game at Crystal Palace, was asked why his side have conceded 19 goals in 12 Premier League games. Referring to his back three, he said: “One of them is Luke Shaw [a left-back], sometimes we have Noussair Mazraoui and Luke Shaw, so we play with one centre-back. If you play Amad [Diallo] on the wing-back, [he] is not a wing-back, he’s a winger.”
Amorim said his team needed to defend better. “We are being really soft near the box. So we need to improve that in the last games, especially against Nottingham [Forest, a 2-2 draw]. We allowed a lot of crosses, we didn’t press well [in] moments. Against Everton, they were with 10 men [after 13 minutes] and we suffered the goal [Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s winner] with the only shot on target.
“Of course, we need to improve a lot of things. I think the issue is not about the defenders. It’s about the team and the way we feel the danger near our box.”
