Micah Richards has defended Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, insisting that the criticism he’s received following a rocky start to the season is unjust. The Red Devils got back on track this weekend with a comfortable victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford. The win on Saturday afternoon saw United secure three vital points, propelling them into the top half of the Premier League table. They now sit just four points behind Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur, who occupy the fourth and third spots respectively.
Despite this, United find themselves in 10th place as they head into the October international break. After spending more than £200million on new signings during the summer, Amorim has found himself under intense scrutiny. Richards, speaking on the Rest Is Football podcast, threw his support behind the United boss, arguing that he needs the right players to implement his system. Following the victory against Sunderland, the ex-Manchester City defender expressed: “I’m delighted for Amorim.
“I did a big piece last week about the formation, the players, how it’s not working – and it didn’t work [against Brentford]. I was honest about it, but some of the stick he gets online… he’s a manager.”, the ex-Manchester City ace explained. “He’s a big boy. He can deal with it. I believe he’s a good coach. I just don’t believe he’s got the players to do what he wants to do. It’s as simple as that, so to see them getting a win – even though I’m a Blue – it was good for him.”
Speaking ahead of the Sunderland encounter, Amorim stood firm on his contentious choice to persist with three centre-backs. He declared: “I understand when people think, ‘what would this team be like in a different system? Maybe this team would win more games. But if we don’t change certain things, we are not going to win titles, even if we change to 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. That is my point with the players.”
He continued: “I don’t want to change your mind, but my players, I guarantee you, they are listening to all the opinions and they are putting that inside because we are not winning games. They have to believe in me. So my biggest problem is that my players believe in you guys when you say the problem with our team is the system. I get crazy about that, because we need to play the same way, with the same power, with the same intensity, with the same focus.
“If you do that, it doesn’t matter about the system. There is no one in the world who can read everything and listen to everything about people who understand football and not be influenced by that. So I try to listen and to see all the games because I know that I see the game more times than all those guys [pundits] together, because they have to see all the games in the Premier League and give an opinion.
“My opinion is completely different because I see the games, I see training, I understand my players, I understand what I’m doing and I follow my job this way because it’s impossible to survive in this club, listening to all the things.”
Amorim and United have two weeks off from action while the international break takes place, but it’s right back into the thick of things afterwards. United resume their Premier League campaign with a trip to Anfield to play Liverpool on the first weekend back.