Ruben Amorim has spoken about his first year as Man United boss and how he has found the task of managing one of the world's biggest clubs.
Amorim spoke ahead of the Palace win
Amorim spoke ahead of the Palace win(Image: TNT Sports)
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Ruben Amorim has admitted the role of Manchester United manager is "tougher than he was expecting". Amorim recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of him becoming United boss, though there have been times when it seemed he may not reach the milestone.
A five-game unbeaten run helped lift the early-season pressure on the Portuguese head coach, and United are now just three points outside the top four with a home clash with struggling West Ham to come. Amorim reflected on his first year in the job ahead of the win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
When asked by TNT Sports if there was any point during his first 12 months at Old Trafford that he was surprised by the intensity of the role, Amorim said: "Of course, you are not fully prepared for everything. We have a notion and if you pay attention to football, this is the first contact of Manchester United, I've focused on trying to learn everything about the club.
"I think it's not hard to understand what the fans want, first of all, but of course it was a surprise. It's tough, the league is really tough, and everything about our club is so big, it's so different from the other clubs, even the other big ones, so you need to understand that, you need to be really strong mentally.
"I understand also that we still have a lot to change, because sometimes the small things can become big things, the way we work, behave, all these things, so it was a little bit of a surprise, and it was tougher than I was expecting."
Victory at Selhurst Park saw United bounce back from their most disappointing performance of the season against Everton a week ago. Jean-Philippe Mateta put Palace ahead on Sunday from the penalty spot, but second-half goals from Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount ensured United got back to winning ways.