Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag both made the same call over what they wanted to see from their respective first pre-season training sessions at Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag’s reign at Manchester United ended last season after a poor start to the 2024-25 Premier League campaign saw the Dutchman axed from Old Trafford.
The 55-year-old former Ajax and United manager has since returned to management in 2025, with Ten Hag becoming Bayer Leverkusen manager earlier this month.
Ten Hag had signed a new United deal only last summer after Ineos and Sir Jim Ratcliffe had backed the Bayer Leverkusen boss with a flurry of new signings.
The ex-Ajax head coach’s exit from Old Trafford last October paved the way for Ruben Amorim to succeed him in the hot seat at the Premier League club.
Amorim left his role at Sporting CP last November during the 2024-25 campaign and arrived at Old Trafford amid a turbulent Premier League season for the Red Devils.
READ MORE: Ruben Amorim already ‘fixed’ major role in tactical system with three Man Utd players, ‘knock-on effect’ is now there
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim in action during a first-team training session at the Carrington training complex in 2025 in Manchester.
Photo by Manchester United/Manchester United
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Ruben Amorim was similar to Erik ten Hag with his first Man Utd pre-season training at Carrington — but with a twist
Ruben Amorim held his first Manchester United pre-season training session at Carrington ahead of the forthcoming tour of Europe and the United States.
The Red Devils have been out of action since May after the end of the 2024-25 Premier League season and the two-match post-season tour of Asia.
There were 15 players who initially reported to the Carrington training complex for Amorim’s session on Monday, with the numbers set to increase over the week.
Manchester United’s official website released full details into Amorim’s pre-season training session, including the approach that the former Sporting CP boss had taken.
Harry Robinson revealed in an editorial that a key takeaway from Amorim’s pre-season training was the “intensity” that he applied to the players on Monday.
Amorim’s ‘intense’ training session came with “plenty of information” for the United players as well, with there being “no easing” back at the Red Devils after the break.
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Erik ten Hag matched Ruben Amorim’s energy in his first pre-season at Man Utd — but he delivered his message differently
Erik ten Hag started his chapter as United manager back in 2022 after he left Dutch side Ajax, with the former Red Devils boss finding success at Old Trafford.
The Bayer Leverkusen head coach lifted the FA Cup and the League Cup with United before his time at the Premier League club came to an end in 2024.
Ten Hag had made his name at Ajax and the Dutchman also made his mark in his first week of pre-season training with United players at Carrington.
Melissa Reddy reported for Sky Sports in 2022 that Ten Hag made sure that the message of “intense” was delivered to the first-team players in his training sessions.
However, Ten Hag did take a twist with his messaging compared with Amorim, with the Dutchman applying the idea of intensity to both the “body” and the “mind.”