John O’Shea has claimed that he is “sure” where Ruben Amorim’s mindset is at in one area after the Manchester United manager’s rocky start to life at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag was sacked as Manchester United manager in late October and Ruud van Nistelrooy was appointed interim head coach for four matches.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was assistant manager to Erik ten Hag, picked up three wins and one draw as interim manager before his Old Trafford exit in November.
Ruben Amorim inked a deal until June 2027 after United agreed to pay Sporting CP their £9.25m release clause for the 39-year-old Portuguese manager.
The former Sporting CP boss arrived at the start of the November international break and Amorim has managed two wins in his first five matches in charge at United.
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Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of Manchester United, react during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Old T...
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O’Shea on what Amorim is thinking
Manchester United slipped to back-to-back Premier League defeats last week under Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim.
Arsenal defeated United 2-0 at the Emirates last Wednesday before Nottingham Forest stunned the Red Devils 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
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Amorim’s men languish in 13th place in the Premier League table and United are eight points adrift from the top four.
The United manager has wasted no time in implementing his 3-4-2-1 formation at the Red Devils and Amorim has experimented with different players so far.
However, John O’Shea is convinced that Amorim has his eyes set on entering the January window, even if the Portuguese manager has not been explicit about it.
“That freshness and energy that the manager will want in his team because of how he wants to play, that’s a key part, because obviously there’s a new energy and freshness from his staff but the players will have to respond to that quickly because of the amount of games in December, it’s crazy,” he told RTE.
“So, I’m sure Ruben will be thinking about the January transfer window, as much as he’s not saying he is, and I’m sure in the background the club will be doing all they can to help him in whatever way they can possibly, to adjust to certain positions in the system that he wants to play.”
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O’Shea on first impressions of Amorim
United return to action on Thursday when they travel away to the Doosan Arena to face Czech side Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.
The Red Devils are on nine points after five Europa League matches and United are 12th in the league table format, with Viktoria Plzen in 13th place and level on points.
O’Shea admitted that he really likes Amorim’s personality and is hopeful that “certain players stand up quickly” to help the United manager out early in his reign.
“In terms of a personality I really like him,” he said.
“It has to not be everything. You’re not going to get away with just being able to talk well in the media.
“You have to have the respect of the players when you go in and try and explain how you’re going to approach a certain team, why you’re going to do this today, why we were doing this last week and not doing it this week.
“You’re getting that balanced approach right and getting the belief into the group again, and you’re trying to do that when you’re changing four or five players a game because there’s fitness issues at the minute with the team.
“You’re hoping that certain players stand up quickly and be counted. That’s what’s needed especially.”
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