The task at Manchester United when Ruben Amorim arrived wasn’t just to improve results on the pitch, but also to refresh the culture at the club.
What Ruben Amorim did after the Ipswich draw in his first game at the helm was a sign of things to come and the efforts to establish a culture have begun.
For too long, the Man Utd squad has been too comfortable with failures and being just good, not great. That is the mentality shift Ruben Amorim needs to engineer.
Furthermore, the connection between the Man Utd fans and the players has been iffy for a while as they believe the players have thrown yet another manager under the bus.
In such difficult circumstances, the Man Utd manager has named a non-negotiable for his players which should go some way towards addressing that.
Manchester United's Portuguese head coach Ruben Amorim reacts as he leaves the pitch following the English Premier League football match between Ar...
Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s Man Utd non-negotiable
Amorim spoke to the press ahead of the home game vs Nottingham Forest and was his usual calm and confident self.
He spoke about the importance of “running like mad dogs” and made it clear to the players that they wouldn’t win anything without that level of effort.
However, that is something that is to be done on the pitch but what happens off the pitch directly relates to performances on it.
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That’s something Amorim is eager to address and when asked about it in the embargoed section of his press conference, he didn’t try and sugarcoat the matter.
Amorim was asked about the players applauding the away fans for their support after a tough loss against Arsenal and a video going around of Marcus Rashford not doing it.
He responded: “Of course, we have to do it, especially when we lose. Not when we win, when we lose. We’re going to do that and everybody has to do it. It’s going to be like that.”
He makes the point that when the team wins, that is automatically a “thanks” for the away fans as they’ve been treated to a win but the travelling support deserves recognition when the team is swept aside.
Not a good look for Marcus Rashford
Rashford was the centre of attention at that press conference as, besides this video of him not acknowledging the away fans, he was also the subject of questions about his form.
Rashford followed up a brace against Everton with a nightmare sub appearance vs Arsenal and that inconsistency is what infuriates the fans.
The undoubted ability and the potential he has shown during his “good” seasons just hasn’t been seen enough and that is something he will need to address.
As a credit to Amorim’s man management, he didn’t take the bait and spread responsibility to the whole squad who have to improve and not just Rashford.
Still, the forward’s exorbitant contract, combined with his inconsistencies means that he will always be under the scanner after a bad performance or two.
That is not always in his hands as things don’t turn out the way you want on the pitch all the time but he can at least do things like acknowledge the away support so he doesn’t provide more ammunition to the critics.
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