Ruben Amorim begins his highly anticipated tenure as Manchester United manager this weekend, with the Portuguese tactician's first test coming in the Premier League away game against Ipswich Town.
The 39-year-old will introduce himself to fans who are eagerly hoping for a change in United's fortunes after a dismal start.
It remains to be seen what kind of football the Red Devils will play. However, it can be affirmed that being a coach in the Premier League is one thing, but being a coach of Man United is another.
Why? Because this isn’t just about Man United sitting 13th in the table and desperate to break into the top four again. It’s not even about the shadow of the Sir Alex Ferguson era that continues to cast over the present. This is about a club with an extraordinary history and a huge global brand.
Amorim will have 11 matches in the remainder of the 2024 calendar year to make an immediate impact.
The start of the Amorim era will be against Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich, who was part of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching staff at Carrington. With the November international break, Amorim will only have two full days of training with the squad, so many players will not be able to fully understand his ideas, in addition to not being 100% fit.
That's why Amorim's main task is to defend strongly. Don't concede and everything else will follow. Man United fans are well aware of the limitations of the 3-4-3 and the risks of using it at Old Trafford.
Amorim takes over a squad severely lacking in confidence, following disappointing results under Erik ten Hag. United have slumped to 13th in the Premier League and are also struggling in the Europa League.
However, there have been plenty of positives from Ruud van Nistelrooy's four games as caretaker manager, which Amorim has taken forward.
"We understand that it takes time, but we have to take advantage of that time. To do this, we need to win games. However, the most important thing for me is to build a team identity.
So from day one, we will start shaping that identity. Of course, we will prepare carefully for each match, but the focus will be on the playing model" - Amorim said.
