Dropping Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford one month into his tenure as Man United showed Ruben Amorim doesn't suffer fools.
Amorim has introduced new rules
Amorim has introduced new rules
Ruben Amorim has established new rules for Manchester United players to abide by this season.
Amorim has settled on a softer form of discipline than permanent predecessor Erik ten Hag, though he has reiterated the importance of punctual timekeeping.
Club sources say there are defined rules and codes of conduct now, with players encouraged to sign autographs and pose for photographs with supporters, though former executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward advocated such humility as far back as 2019.
United have encountered issues with a number of high-profile players in recent years. Jadon Sancho confessed while he was at Borussia Dortmund he had to improve his timekeeping and it was also an issue at United.
Alejandro Garnacho did not play during the 2022 pre-season tour of Thailand and Australia after he was late for a meeting and Marcus Rashford was dropped for the New Year's Eve fixture at Wolves later that year following his late arrival for a pre-match team meeting. Rashford came on at half-time to score the winning goal.
Amorim dropped Rashford and Garnacho from the squad for the Manchester derby at City in December over their attitude in the 2-1 win at Viktoria Plzen three days earlier. Rashford has not played for United since and Garnacho is expected to be sold before the end of the transfer window.
After finishing 15th and trophyless last season, Amorim is striving to raise the standards at United and believes the clubs have improved their medical department and nutrition. He stressed that he will always be "on top" of the players and if they train poorly he will show them video evidence in front of their teammates.
"I think it's really important, especially when you are losing," Amorim said of the changes he has made. "Sometimes you have that feeling that we are losing, let's change a little bit the standards just for them to be with me. I didn't feel that last season and they also saw that.
"So they understand that when I say one thing, I will do it. That is really important. And I think the change of culture is more a club thing than a manager thing. I cannot do everything by myself.
"But I think we improved in every department: medical department, nutrition, we have a new chef, we have new rules. We have rules, and the rules are not to treat the players as babies. They have sons. I treat them as a man, but they have rules now.
"And that can change the way you train. If you don't train in the right way, I have footage to show you. And I show you in front of everybody. So I'm always on top.
"I will expect to be in one phase, that I don't need to do anything. Because they will push each other. But in the moment, if you train one time bad, I will show you the image. I will not speak with you, just speak. I will show everything.
"So that really requires a lot of energy."
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