NEW MANCHESTER UNITED head coach Ruben Amorim says he is the “right man” for the club, but will need time to implement his ideas.
The 39-year-old signed a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this month to replace Erik ten Hag, who was sacked in October.
United are 13th in the Premier League table, seven points above today’s opponents Ipswich Town, who are fourth from bottom.
While Amorim recognises the size of the task facing him at Old Trafford, he believes he can turn the club’s fortunes around.
“I’m a little bit of a dreamer and I believe in myself and I believe in the club,” he said during his first news conference as head coach. “I think we have the same idea, the same mindset and that can help.
“I truly believe in the players; I know you don’t believe a lot but I do. I want to try new things. You guys don’t think it’s possible, I do. The Portuguese, who has joined United after four years at Sporting, insisted he will bring change in order for the club to challenge for the Premier League title again.
He added: “I know at Manchester United we have to win games. We need a lot of time because it’s a tough league, we have to improve a lot to try to win the title.
“We have to change the physical aspect of the team. I don’t know how long it will take.”
Given his nationality and success in Portugal, Amorim has often been compared to Jose Mourinho, who had spells in the Premier League with United, Chelsea and Tottenham.
The Fenerbahce coach spent two-and-a-half-years at Old Trafford, winning the League Cup and Europa League following his appointment in 2016.
Amorim, though, was keen to play down the comparisons.
“I’m different from Mourinho, I remember that time,” said Amorim, referring to when Mourinho joined Chelsea in 2004 after winning the Champions League with Porto.
“You looked at Mourinho and felt he could win everywhere. It’s not the same thing. He was European champion, I am not.
“Football is different nowadays, I think I am the right person for this moment. I am a young guy and I try to use this to help my players.
“Their young guys were (Frank) Lampard and these kind of players, nowadays it’s so much different. I think I’m right for now.”
In recognition of the limited time the coach has had in his new surroundings, United had chosen to stage a normal pre-match media briefing in the rather plain Jimmy Murphy building at the training ground, rather than a more formal Old Trafford unveiling of the kind previous new managers such as Ten Hag had held.
But this felt very different to the strained and adversarial media conferences that became a weekly feature of the final months of Ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford.
Speaking in fluent English, the more charismatic Amorim seemed undaunted by the attention and appeared to relish the opportunity to articulate how he is feeling.
Smiling throughout, he made clear his belief both in himself and in his players, claiming he was “the right guy at the right time”, while gently accusing the media of a lack of faith. — BBC
