Amorim and Mount attended a press conference
Amorim and Mount attended a press conference
Minutes into the press conference in Kuala Lumpur, the alarm went off on Ruben Amorim’s phone at the W Hotel. Appropriately, it sounded similar to a siren before an atomic bomb is dropped.
If ever there is a summer for Manchester United to go nuclear, it is this one. The intended sale of four prominent forwards chimes with the “bravery” Amorim has demanded in the summer transfer window.
Marcus Rashford, Antony and Jadon Sancho were already out of dodge. Alejandro Garnacho has been swiftly and decisively dealt with after his unburdening in the San Mames mixed zone.
Eleven years ago, Louis van Gaal bullishly said, “I don’t need a holiday” at his unveiling by United, four days after leading the Netherlands to fourth place at the 2014 World Cup. That was the last time United were gearing up for a season devoid of European football.
Amorim insists he does not need to “disconnect” from the summer activity back at base. “It was important to finish the season, that was important,” he noted. “We needed to close that chapter.
“It’s not fully behind us because I have one row of English journalists waiting for questions! So I will rest from that when we finish the tour.
“But to tell the truth, I closed that chapter. I’m excited. I’m nervous. I want to work to the next season. So I don’t have a feeling that I need to disconnect.
“I had the feeling to close the season but now it’s a new season. So I’m excited. I don’t need to rest. I just need to prepare for next season.”
Apart from the presence of four journalists from Manchester, Amorim had a new audience in Kuala Lumpur. He and Mason Mount arrived to the sound of ‘Glory glory Man United’, a song that was not played in Bilbao or Manchester last week.
Amorim and Mount spoke at the press conference
The media WhatsApp group for the friendly with ASEAN All-Stars has 61 members. Hundreds of fans have been milling around the United hotel, pens and smartphones in hand for signed or photographic mementoes.
Amorim was in a gracious mood given that this week is akin to a detention for the worst United squad in 51 years. Rasmus Hojlund and Chido Obi accidentally entered the eighth-floor room reserved for the press conference and were redirected elsewhere before local media could get a picture of them.
United first visited Malaysia in 1995 and there was already an established supporters’ club. The signing session at the team’s hotel had to be abandoned following overcrowding amid intense demand. That was David Beckham’s first exposure to anorak fans familiar with him through United's official magazine.
A United official half-joked that they did not know what day it was after the Sunday evening flight from Manchester. A few players in one of the lifts were complaining about the commercial activities they had been subjected to. Amorim was more statesman-like.
United flew to Kuala Lumpur after the win over Villa
“It's amazing to see, even in difficult seasons, to see how many fans this club has,” he enthused. “It's our duty to be here, it's a pleasure.
“They are outside, following this club for many years and it’s really important to have that connection. It makes this club one of the best clubs in the world, so we are happy to be here.”
United are raking in £8million from their two games with ASEAN All-Stars and a Hong Kong XI. Omar Berrada, the chief executive, is here in Kuala Lumpur but the technical director Jason Wilcox isn’t.
Amorim’s alarm was not related to Matheus Cunha or Liam Delap. “I have the phone always on silent,” Amorim apologised. “Especially on this occasion. It's a house alarm. When I'm away, I like to control my kids!”
There are seven kids on tour with United who are yet to make their debut. Godwill Kukonki, Reece Munro, Jaydan Kamason and Jack Moorhouse have made the bench before but this is unchartered territory for Jim Thwaites, Shea Lacey and Tyler Fletcher.
Some youngsters could be handed a chance on tour
The injury-plagued Lacey, 18, started four games for the academy all season but he already has a large profile on Instagram, with 117,000 followers. He recently deleted every post.
His is a selection that a cynic would say is commercial-led. United claimed they were carefully managing Lacey’s injury as of March. Now he is making a 6,500-mile round trip to Asia.
"It’s a good opportunity to see the young players," Amorim remarked. "And sometimes we have surprises like Ayden (Heaven) every time he played he proved that he’s a first-team player.
Heaven has made an impression on Amorim (Image: Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
“I think one of the issues sometimes with youngsters is we push too much from the beginning. That sometimes is really hard.
“You have social media, all this pressure around young kids, sometimes it’s hard to control. I don’t want to say any name (to look out for). I believe in all of them and, sometimes like I said, you have surprises.
“My job is to give the tools and the opportunities for the young kids, try to protect them. This is a massive club.
“That is a big question in our club, putting our young kids on the pedestal and that is an important thing to change because we need to control that.”
No need to sound the alarm just yet.