Ruben Amorim has brought with him a set of non-negotiables and a culture of accountability that had started loosening at Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag had started strong at Man Utd with his stance on Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by Jadon Sancho’s exile, but his inclination to accommodate Marcus Rashford’s transgression boiled over under Ruben Amorim.
Despite the performances being up and down, Amorim has been a believer in the process of results, with the latter sorting itself out automatically if the former is followed.
One Man Utd star has personified his main demand at the club which is clear from his statements in the last three months.
Lisandro Martinez of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's first goal with teammates Amad Diallo, Leny Yoro and Toby Collyer during the P...
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s main demand at Man Utd
There is a single word that can be used to sum up Ruben Amorim’s main demand at Manchester United, one that he’s said directly many times, and implied in every other instance.
That word is “intensity”, with the manager repeatedly asking his team to “run a lot” and “run like mad dogs”, urging them to leave the field collapsed and heaving.
It makes sense too because talent deficit can’t be fixed overnight and the tactical understanding will also come with time but meanwhile, leaving their all on the pitch is a non-negotiable.
It’s why Amorim has stressed that repeatedly and while that demand has been heeded by the players in big games, it has gone absent in the “lesser ones”.
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Not for one player, who’s leading all of Europe’s top-five leagues in goals created through defensive actions.
Amad personifying Ruben Amorim demand
Amad has created four goals through defensive actions this season, more than twice as many as the next best, according to Statman Dave, as posted on his X account.
Amad has more goals created through defensive actions (4) than any other player across Europe's top five leagues this season. In fact, he has TWICE as many as the next best.
Technicality and tenacity. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/4iEGaPWkDL
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 12, 2025
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Amad’s uncanny ability to pick the pockets of players much more superior than him in terms of raw physicality speaks volumes about Amorim’s demand that it is as much about willingness as it is about talent.
His ability to press well from the front has made Amorim reticent about pushing him back and play him as a wing-back which should be a lesson to other forward players who are not executing the same to perfection.
Often, the eye test doesn’t match the statistics or vice versa but in Amad’s case, both scream perfection.