Manchester United manager believes joining the club in November has helped “avoid a lot of mistakes” that would have occurred next season
Ruben Amorim has said his decision to join Manchester United midway through the season, rather than wait until summer, has helped the club avoid a lot of suffering.
Appointed in November following the departure of Erik ten Hag, Amorim inherited a fractured dressing room and a team languishing in the lower half of the Premier League table. United’s season has continued on an abnormally downward spiral under the Portuguese anyway and winning games has become a rarity, but he insists his early arrival has laid essential groundwork and helped him understand the club, squad and the league better.
“In this moment, I’m really glad that I arrived six months before we started the new season,” Amorim told reporters ahead of United’s final league match against Aston Villa. “We avoided a lot of mistakes that would have happened next season. We have avoided a lot of suffering.”
United are currently 16th in the league and were defeated 1-0 by Tottenham in Wednesday’s Europa League final in Bilbao. The loss ensured that United would have no European football whatsoever next season, nor a trophy to present to fans as consolation in a dismal campaign.
Reacting to it, Amorim said: “It was very tough and it still is. It was harsh for us to lose that game. We were the better team, we had more chances.
“It’s been a tough season but we had that hope we could win something and that could help us to finish the season in a different way. The way we can get up is to focus on the next game, to finish in a good way.”
“When you start thinking about the future and the squad, a new season is going to start and we will start with new ambitions and try to do better.”
Behind the scenes, United’s structure is undergoing a major reset. There are significant cost-cutting measures and the club are building towards an important summer overhaul, with many players set to exit the club. Amorim declined to discuss individual futures, including those of Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho, both of whom have a high likelihood of leaving Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
“I always speak to my players but the focus now is on the last game,” said Amorim. “We have a plan and we prepared for both situations, with Champions League and without.”
