Manchester United's appointment of Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag's successor was largely led by CEO Omar Berrada. During the negotiations, the newly appointed CEO did not try to "compromise" the scale of the task. And Amorim also understood that the job would be more complicated than he initially thought.
So far, Amorim has taken charge of five games, bringing home two wins, two losses and one draw. Overall, it was a chaotic run of performances from the Red Devils.
The former Sporting boss has tried to make up for his lack of training time with extended training sessions on artificial turf. Ten Hag has previously used the area mostly for warm-ups, but Amorim has conducted specific tactical instructors.
According to British media, Amorim did not hold many private meetings with the players. Instead, these meetings were assigned to his assistants and most of the work was done in groups.
Amorim also started defending his players at his first press conference: "I really believe in the players. I know the media doesn't trust these players much, but I trust them a lot."
Part of Berrada's interest in Amorim is believed to stem from the way he builds relationships with his players. Man United decided to give up Ten Hag partly because they felt he was too extreme in the way he treated the players.
At 39, Amorim is also only a short way out of his playing career. And that has shaped the way Amorim coaches. He does not hold traditional post-match talks. Instead, the players are given the opportunity to hold their own post-match press conferences if they want to and Amorim will take the team's problem the next day. This gave Amorim the opportunity to analyze more deeply into the parts of the game and make a clear assessment after the emotions subsided.
Amorim also did not talk at length with the players during the break. The 39-year-old often spends most of his time preparing for substitutes. He left the dressing room at half-time in the Arsenal game at the Emirates nearly 10 minutes before the start to focus on coaching Amad Diallo.
Inheriting a squad that lacks confidence, building team spirit and solidarity is Amorim's top priority. Players returning to training from injuries were welcomed by challenge running and were jokingly teased by the remaining members of the squad. Amorim can speak to the players in English, Portuguese and Spanish, in addition to spending time getting to know their families.
In general, Amorim is a young and dynamic coach, but not without seriousness. The Portuguese tactician was very angry in the match against Everton because one of the substitutes was not ready to come on as soon as he asked him.
Amorim has also introduced some strict rules such as banning food in the dressing room on the day of the match. Instead of conducting interviews with MUTV in a small room at Jimmy Murphy's building, which Ten Hag often uses, he prefers to do them in front of the sponsor's reception area.
