Ruben Amorim wants Manchester United to rediscover “the principles, the identity and the character that we had in the past” as he bids to install the same kind of culture that Sir Alex Ferguson did at the club.
Amorim is the seventh manager since Ferguson retired in 2013. The legendary Scot ended a 27-year spell on the Old Trafford touchline by celebrating a 13th Premier League title of his tenure.
United have not won the league since that 2012-13 season and just 11 games into the current campaign, trail leaders Liverpool – themselves coached by a new manager in Arne Slot – by a huge 13 points.
Amorim’s overall mission taking over the Red Devils is to restore them to their former glories, having had to watch arch rivals Manchester City and Liverpool enjoy more success than them in the past decade.
The Portuguese tactician is keen to turn United back into a winning machine like they were under Fergie, and in his bid to do so wants to implement a clear identity.
The new United boss said to MUTV: “A lot of people now talk about the 3-4-3 and the 4-3-3 and all that stuff. But when I think as a player or as a team-mate of Manchester United, it is not a system of formation, it’s like the character of the players, the way they see the club.
“So we have to focus on that before everything of how we play, how we press. The most important thing for me at this moment is to create the principles, the identity and the character that we had in the past.
“If you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine. But if I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity.
“If our players take the shirt, they will know that it is the Manchester United team. Everybody thinks the same, running back, playing, enjoying. This is what drives me. I can say the popular thing, which is to win.
“Everybody wants to win and I want to win with my players, with the fans, but with an identity and one idea, that is the thing that I am focused on all the time. I want everybody together. It will be more fun and so much easier to reach the goals.”
Amorim is United’s youngest manager since 1969 at the age of 39 and says the discussions he held with the club’s INEOS decision-makers left him convinced that the future is positive.
He explained: “I feel a connection with the people in the club and that is very important for me because I want to work with people that I like and I feel a connection.
“I think all the people are hungry for success and I feel that this is the place that I want to be also because of that, because you can be part of something special, not just one more. And that is something that I really like.
“Of course I have to say the names. Even Sir Jim [Ratcliffe] and Sir Dave [Brailsford], but especially Omar [Berrada], Dan [Ashworth] and Jason [Wilcox]. I felt a connection and I felt we are in the same moment.
“We want to do something special in the special club. So I think that was a key point. When Manchester United talked to me, Omar, they told me about their plans and you get excited.
“It’s a real honour because I was the first choice to start that path. So it’s a great responsibility. But you feel honoured and excited to be part of that.
“And we know that if the team plays well and wins games, everything looks so much better and the people really start to believe in the new stadium and new ideas.
“So, we know that we are the engine of the football. Manchester United is the engine of the Premier League in my opinion.”
