Ruben Amorim has denied that being Manchester United’s head coach is the impossible job but says his two-and-a-half-year contract is not long enough to win the title.
Amorim is United’s sixth permanent appointment since they were last Premier League champions, under Sir Alex Ferguson, in May 2013. David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Erik ten Hag failed to make them contenders. He was reminded of this and asked whether United was the impossible job.
“No, of course not,” the 39-year-old said. “Call me naive but I believe I am the right guy at the right moment. I could be wrong but the Earth still will turn, the sun will rise again. It doesn’t matter, I’m not worried about that. I truly believe I’m the right guy for this job. I really don’t know the biggest challenge [here] – I will find out during the next months.
“I’m a little bit of a dreamer, and I believe in myself, I also believe in the club. We have the same idea, the same mindset, so that can help, but I truly believe in the players also. I know you guys don’t believe a lot in these players. But I believe a lot. We have room to improve, I want to try new things. You guys think it’s not possible; I think it’s possible. We will see in the end.”
Amorim is contracted until summer 2027 but believes longer is required to claim United a 21st title. “I have two years and a half. In two years you can understand if I am the right manager to go in this process. We will need more time – if you look at the clubs who are winning this league, they are doing this process for a long time.
“I understand we will need more than two and a half years. We have to win something, somewhere, but in two years you can understand if you want to continue this part [with him] or change.
“You have here different types of coaches: the guys that won everything like Van Gaal and Mourinho, the new ones that knew the club inside out like Solskjær, then one of the best outside the top five leagues – Ten Hag. We have to improve as a club and acknowledge we have to win games. You have different coaches, the same results. We will try to do the Ineos way, my way.”
Amorim was asked why he had confidence in players whose form caused Ten Hag to be sacked. United are 13th but only four points behind third-placed Chelsea.
“You have to believe and I believe in them,” he said. “When I start this week … you can say [only] one week training but they are open to different things. The only thing I ask is hard work and you have to believe in the idea.”
He accepts the squad has lost confidence. “That is for sure but normal. When players don’t win games, you start to be suspicious of the way of playing. You can understand when they walk to the game or the warm-up if they are confident or not. I have to help them but they are ready to cope with the demands of games in the Premier League. You see sometimes they have a bad first half and then in the second half they will change so they have to find that mindset.”
Amorim’s opening game is Sunday’s trip to Ipswich and he said he would stick with his 3-4-3 system. “As a coach you have to choose one way or another,” he said. “I always choose 100% our way. I choose to risk a bit. I believe so much in our way of playing, they will believe too. There is no second way.
“We will adapt some players because we don’t have a different profile. Maybe on Sunday you will see the starting XI and not feel a lot of change but you will see it in the game and the positioning or where they receive the ball.”
Amorim wants a major influence regarding recruitment. “We have to improve the process of recruitment, the data. It is all together, but the final word should be the manager, not because it is your right but because it is your responsibility. I have to understand the league and then when everything is aligned, everyone is on the same page, we can buy and sell players.
“It is not the final [word], but I have a great responsibility when we choose the players.”
