Manchester United have looked like a different team this pre-season, miles away from the outfit that finished 15th in the league last season, and all that is down to one key change by Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim had been wanting the pre-season to arrive almost immediately from the moment he walked through the doors at Old Trafford.
He was criticised at the time, but he has since accepted that arriving early has allowed him to approach this pre-season with even more clarity.
As per Andre Onana, one change engineered by the Man Utd manager is the biggest change in the pre-season under Erik ten Hag last summer, and what’s happened this time.
Bryan Mbeumo and Andre Onana of Manchester United walk out ahead of the Premier League Summer Series match between Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Andre Onana on Man Utd’s pre-season
United’s pre-season last summer started off with the manager’s authority weakened, as there were doubts over Ten Hag’s long-term future.
He was given a one-year extension, but that’s hardly a statement of intent, and he also had to tackle the return of Jadon Sancho out of nowhere.
In contrast, Amorim froze out five players before the pre-season even began, and made his plans clear from the very first day.
Luke Shaw spoke about the dressing room and how united it looks now, and the same has been repeated by Onana while talking about the change brought by Amorim.
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He said: “[The difference] is togetherness. We know how we suffered last season, it was tough for us. We make sure it doesn’t happen again. We work hard, enjoy training together, have fun. That is the key. When we are together, we’re going to be hard to beat.”
Competitive games is where Man Utd’s challenge begins
Man Utd fans can be forgiven for getting carried away a bit after a few pre-season performances.
They haven’t seen semi-competent football in almost two years, so seeing Man Utd ping the ball around with purpose and identity is a welcome change.
At the same time, nobody is losing sight of the big picture, where United need to take this form and bring it to competitive games.
United’s start to the Premier League is extremely testing, beginning with a home game against Arsenal, and a positive performance in that will go a long way.
Positive results are not even the expectation, just a positive performance will do, starting with Andre Onana, who missed the whole pre-season and comes off a bad last season.