Manchester United have three games remaining in their season but it might as well be only one, as the Europa League final is all that matters, and Ruben Amorim has already given his team talk.
The Man Utd manager has been brutally honest during his time at Old Trafford so far, sometimes almost to a fault.
It has led to him having to explain and clarify things afterwards, accepting that he gets carried away in the heat of the moment.
He has now revealed that he’s already given a pre-match message to his players ahead of the final, and it can go down as iconic or ill-advised based on the result of the final.
As always, it’s the extremes with a famously passionate Ruben Amorim.
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s team talk ahead of Europa League final
Man Utd might have more European pedigree than Spurs, something which Paul Scholes pointed out as a reason why they are the favourites, but it’s not so clear cut.
For starters, Ruben Amorim is yet to win a European trophy in his admittedly nascent managerial career, and a lot of the current Man Utd squad haven’t tasted success at the club.
Therefore, the pressure of the final can dictate the players’ minds, especially in a draining Premier League campaign.
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Amorim has sought to wake the players up from their stupor with another brutally honest message to them which is effectively his team talk before the final.
Speaking to the press ahead of the final, Amorim said he’s been to a European final before as a player which he lost, and his perspective comes from that position.
He said: “It is just that feeling that I played in this final as a player but I lost. It doesn’t matter. You have to win the final no matter what. The feeling will be like ‘what a waste of time’ [if they lose]. My message to my players will be that we need to win it, otherwise it doesn’t matter.”
Ruben Amorim showing ruthless side again
It is easy to take Amorim as an easy-going manager at face value because he never throws any particular player under the bus but there’s clearly a silent ruthlessness about him.
It comes out during his outbursts of honesty when he doesn’t single out anyone but sends pointed messages to everyone at the club.
This is another one of those instances where he’s laid the gauntlet for the team, saying that nobody remembers the losers.
The time to take the pressure off the players is long gone. Now is the time to ramp it up and challenge them to live up to it.
It is the situation they have brought upon themselves by being hopelessly inconsistent in the Premier League so they need to cope with it now.
Whether or not they do can decide the trajectory of the club for the next two or three years because Amorim’s patience will wear thin quickly.