Ruben Amorim is preparing to face Real Sociedad
Ruben Amorim has admitted his time at Manchester United has been challenging
Ruben Amorim has opened up on his difficult start at Manchester United and admitted “everything has been challenging” since he arrived.
Amorim, whose United side face Real Sociedad tonight in a must-win Europa League tie to keep their season alive, has won just 11 of his 26 games in charge. The 40-year-old Portuguese coach admitted the job at United is harder than he imagined but he claimed he has become a better manager for the experience.
“I think everything has been challenging,” said Amorim. “I don't want to say difficult, but challenging. I'm learning a lot. Even the type of game is completely different.
“And I felt in the Europa League, the game is so different and I'm learning that. I'm learning also because I was so lucky and I had a small experience as a coach, but I was always winning. And when you are winning, you can say whatever you want.
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“And I'm quite honest and I've always felt really free, because I back myself with the results. And when you don't have the results, you have to balance that. And I'm learning that also.
“Here, everybody has an opinion and the type of opinions here are stronger, with a lot of legends, and you have to manage that. But when I said on the first day that I really don't care, and when I say I really don't care, it's that I know that the results will change everything.
“You can have an opinion today, next year at the same time, at the same hour, you will find me a completely different coach. So I'm focused on that. And the hardest part is to lose. I will say it again, no matter what people say without the context, the squad, that doesn't matter. Not winning games as a coach, it's the hardest part of our job.”
Rasmus Hojlund has struggled to find the net
Rasmus Hojlund has struggled to find the net ( Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Amorim also defended United striker Rasmus Hojlund, who has gone 20 games without a goal, claiming the young forward is still contributing to the team – despite not scoring.
“We're trying to show the good things that people don't see,” Amorim told Sky Sports News. “For example, the goal that we scored in Spain, you have a play with Diogo Dalot, with Alejandro Garnacho.
“If you look at the play, Joshua Zirkzee has the space because Rasmus did the run. And when Josh is shooting the ball, Rasmus is blocking one defender that can reach the ball. We showed that to the team before in the preparation for this game.
“So I'm trying to show that everybody here is really important. People cannot see, but I see it and Rasmus is doing a lot of things well, but he's in that moment that, as a striker, you need to score.
“Sometimes, when he has the opportunity or the ball, he struggles because the confidence is not there. But the work that he does in the games is helping us to, for example, achieve this stage of this competition.”
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