Ruben Amorim revealed he is doing walkthroughs to show players what he wants as he attempts to compensate for a lack of training time during a frantic start to life as Manchester United head coach.
Erik ten Hag’s successor has had precious little opportunity to fine-tune the 3-4-3 set-up and ideals that worked with such great success during his time at Portuguese champions Sporting.
Amorim joined United at the start of an international break when many players were away, meaning he had just two training sessions with the group before last Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Ipswich.
The Portuguese celebrated his first win in charge in Thursday’s 3-2 Europa League comeback triumph against Bodo/Glimt, with attention then immediately switching to Sunday’s clash with Everton.
It is the first of nine matches in a manic December for United – a schedule that is squeezing Amorim’s chance to work with his new players, meaning he is trying to get his approach across in different ways.
“I was a football player,” the former Portugal international said. “Football players, videos more than 12 minutes? Forget! Because they lose the concentration.
“So, we have to work on… imagine there’s an indoor stadium. We have that (at Carrington).
“Instead of video, we do it like walking and jogging. It’s a way to do it. Showing some videos.
“Then we have all the staff. For example, Carlos (Fernandes, assistant) is with the strikers.
“They will show individual moments, so we will try to cope with that. Everybody has a job in the staff, and they are more important maybe than me!
“So, that’s it. Trying to see the game, what is missing. They are very good players, they need to believe and we will show individual stuff, team stuff and work. If you cannot run, you can jog and make the same exercise.”
December is certainly shaping up to be a test for Amorim’s United, who have a Europa League trip to Viktoria Plzen and Carabao Cup quarter-final against Tottenham on top of seven league games.
United enter the weekend languishing 12th in the Premier League standings and need to start building momentum as Everton – just five points behind them in 15th – arrive at Old Trafford.
Asked what he is expecting on Sunday, head coach Amorim said: “Win. I am hoping to win.
“It’s going to be a different match with a lot of fighting, long balls, second balls. They have a quality coach that understands the league, that understands the moment of the opponent.
“We need to have the ball because we have a short time to recover. We need to rotate the team, so I hope for a win and I hope to see different things in my team.
“Improve like we did from Ipswich to now, with Everton without training. But I expect to see different things and better things.”
Amorim was pleased by the progress his side made against Bodo on Thursday, when attacking midfielder Mason Mount made his first start since August 24.
The 25-year-old has endured a difficult start to life at United since joining from Chelsea in 2023, with injuries ruining the progress of a player the new head coach is a big fan of.
“First thing is he is working really hard,” Amorim said of Mount. “And then you have to understand the human also.
A solid shift from Mason 💪#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/Xafj0WwOdc
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 29, 2024
“He wants this really badly and that is the most important thing. I think he has proven to all of you that he is a talented player. He was a European champion, so we believe a lot in him.
“He has to stay fit. Like all the guys in the team, they are quality players, they have to improve, believe in themselves and he did a great job (against Bodo).
“You see some moments and details that you can see that Mason Mount is a proper footballer, so we believe a lot in him. I especially believe a lot in Mason Mount.”
