New Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim celebrated victory on his Old Trafford debut thanks to a thrilling 3-2 Europa League triumph against Bodo/Glimt – but admitted to a sense of anxiety as his players try to understand his demands.
The scream of relief the 39-year-old let out as Rasmus Hojlund scored the first of his two goals to level the contest at half-time underlined the strain Amorim is under.
The Portuguese has moved clubs – a third of the way through the season – with a determination to implement a wing-back formation United have no recent history of using. And this at a point in the campaign when fixture congestion is at its greatest.
Amorim had two full training sessions with his entire squad before his first game at Ipswich on Sunday, and two more in the build-up to this European success.
He has already revealed his only was round the situation is to push those who don’t start matches through full training sessions the day after. And Amorim is not sure how it will work.
“I get anxious because I don’t know what will happen,” he told TNT Sports. “We don’t control anything at the moment.
“I don’t know the players and we have not worked a lot together.
“We go to the game excited, but at the same time you are nervous because you don’t know how the game will go.”
‘We controlled more, but we should kill the game’
Although the lengthy injury list that blighted Erik ten Hag’s last weeks at Old Trafford is starting to ease, the lingering issues created by lengthy absences continues.
In his first game for 18 months, Tyrell Malacia lasted just 45 minutes in the left wing-back role that places huge physical demands on the player picked to fill it.
Luke Shaw made a second substitute appearance, coming on for Lisandro Martinez, who was playing his first game since getting injured before this month’s international break.
And Mason Mount started his first game since August after being blighted by injuries since he joined United from Chelsea at the start of last season.
It was a relief for Amorim, therefore, that his team came out on top, having profited from Alejandro Garnacho’s 48-second opener, then recovering – courtesy of Rasmus Hojlund’s double – after falling behind to two first-half goals in seven minutes
“We improved different things since the last game,” he said. “We controlled more of the tempo, pushed the team a bit higher (up the pitch) and created more chances.”
Amorim’s complaint was that “we should kill the game before the end”, as he lamented two wasted opportunities for Garnacho and another that substitute Marcus Rashford flashed across goal, all in the second half.
“I like the way the players tried to play our game,” he added.
“Sometimes we won the ball and have had problems in the past giving the ball away too much – the mindset is keeping the ball.
“They are really trying and I think we deserved the win.”
Hojlund ‘did a great job’ but ‘has to improve’
Amorim stresses his use of wing-backs is not revolutionary but there is no doubt his formation depends a lot on the performance of the man selected in the number nine role.
Whoever it is, he is expected to keep the opposition defence occupied and protect the ball long enough for support to arrive.
Amorim said after the Ipswich game that Marcus Rashford was not suited to the job. Hojlund’s performance against Bodo/Glimt was more encouraging, even if his manager told TNT the Dane was “dead” through tiredness at the end.
Addressing his overall display in the main press conference 20 minutes later, Amorim offered praise for the £72m signing from Atalanta, but also added a few demands.
“He has to improve more because sometimes he gives too many touches when he holds the ball, but he is very important when we are in a low block because he is the guy who connects in the transitions,” said Amorim.
“For the goals he was aggressive in the box. He is a quality player, scores the most difficult goals and did a great job today.”
The games come thick and fast for Amorim – United’s longest gap between fixtures to the end of the year is four days.
Should the club progress in the Carabao Cup, there will not be a bigger gap between games before the end of January.
But Amorim does give the impression he is enjoying himself, with United fans already creating a song for him and offering a warm reception on his way out of the tunnel and an enthusiastic one as he went back in and the game had been won.
“It was special because I came from Portugal and half of the stadium doesn’t know me,” he said.
“I have done nothing for this club yet but the way they support me from the beginning made me feel I am not alone now, that I am one of them. I hope not to disappoint them.”
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