Ruben Amorim has taken over as head coach at Manchester United and club captain Bruno Fernandes has given an early verdict of the permanent successor to Erik ten Hag
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has hailed new head coach Ruben Amorim for his ability to connect to players.
Amorim took over at Old Trafford on Monday, two weeks after the club sacked former manager Erik ten Hag. Ten Hag fell out with some squad members at various points in his tenure and some observers felt he wasn’t able to get the squad playing at full intensity towards the end of his time in charge.
By contrast, Amorim remained a popular figure at former club Sporting Lisbon even after confirming his departure. He bowed out with a 4-2 win away at Braga to preserve a 100 percent record in the Primeira Liga, while a 4-1 victory over Manchester City boosted the club’s hopes of progressing to the Champions League round of 16.
Sporting’s star striker Viktor Gyokeres spoke of the “amazing things” Amorim had achieved with the Portuguese club. His first game at United doesn’t arrive until November 24, but Fernandes – who played for Sporting himself before joining United – has already made his feelings clear.
“Obviously for me, what stands out as I said to you is the connection he has with the players,” Fernandes told club media. “You see it at the end of the game when a manager is going from your club in the middle of the season and with all the things that they have still to win.
“And you see the way they say goodbye to him, the way they feel, they make him feel part of the team and how they treat him. So it shows that this is a great character and he’s someone that gives his all to the players.”
His comments come after Gyokeres’ own admission that Sporting will “miss him a lot” now he’s gone. “We’ve done amazing things together. We will miss him and the other guys in the staff who will leave. We have to look forward and attack the next challenge ahead of us,” the Sweden striker said.
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Amorim has a bit of a wait to run the rule properly over his squad, with a number of players heading off on international duty. However, the 39-year-old has already spoken about the task ahead.
“We will not be able to transport one reality to another,” he said after using a strong counter-attacking game to beat City. “United cannot play the way we play, they cannot be so defensive. We will have to adapt. Of course it’s good to beat City. But I’ll be living in a different world in Manchester.
“We’ll have to start from a different point. This was a one-off and we had luck on our side. I will take this to the Premier League, but it will be different in Manchester. It will be fun and I am ready for the challenge.”
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