Comments come after the manager said he was working on raising standards in the dressing room
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has thrown his weight behind captain Bruno Fernandes after the midfielder publicly criticised the team’s performance in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Everton, calling parts of the display “lazy”.
Speaking after the friendly in Atlanta, Fernandes expressed frustration with what he felt was a drop in intensity from the squad.
Amorim responded afterwards by saying he was pleased to see his players holding each other accountable.
“I’m happy for the players to have that feeling,” said Amorim. “It’s saying that they understand the situation. So, it’s a good feeling.”
United had taken the lead twice against Everton but were pegged back by goals from Iliman Ndiaye and an own goal from a mix-up between Amad Diallo and Ayden Heaven. The result halted momentum from back-to-back wins over West Ham and Bournemouth on the club’s US tour.
However, Amorim was satisfied with the overall progress made Stateside.
“I think the momentum of the tour was perfect,” said Amorim. “We had the weeks to work with a good environment, good feeling, and then we go back to Carrington and we are near to start the season.
“We are going with the feeling that we need to improve a lot of things.”
Amorim’s support of Fernandes’ comments comes after the manager said last week that he was working on raising the standards in the dressing room.
“We have new rules,” Amorim had said. “And the rules are not to treat the players as babies. They have sons. I treat them as a man, but they have rules now. And that can change the way you train. If you don’t train in the right way, I have footage to show you.
“And I show you in front of everybody. If you train one time bad, I will show you the image. I will not speak with you, not just speak. I will show everything.”
