Rúben Amorim issues honest thoughts on Erik ten Hag, saying Manchester United players “lost belief”

Rúben Amorim has admitted that his Manchester United players lost belief in Erik ten Hag before the Dutchman was sacked.

Rúben Amorim has been unveiled as Manchester United’s new head coach, replacing Erik ten Hag after the Dutchman’s troubled spell came to an abrupt end.

Ten Hag was dismissed last month following a catastrophic run of results that left United sitting 14th in the Premier League and 21st in their Europa League group, trailing far behind their rivals.

Read More: Ruben Amorim reveals what Jose Mourinho told him after taking Man United job

Amorim, while confirmed as the club’s new manager, has yet to take charge due to delays linked to his release clause. His first match in charge is set for Sunday, 24 November, when United visit Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

In the meantime, Ruud van Nistelrooy served as caretaker manager, leading United to an impressive run of three wins and a draw. He has since departed as Amorim’s new coaching staff begins to implement their vision at Carrington.

The players lost belief

Speaking in his first press conference as Manchester United head coach, Amorim was asked if he felt the players had lost belief in themselves under Ten Hag.

“That’s for sure,” he replied, “but it’s normal when players don’t win games – you start to be suspicious of the way of playing. You can understand, when they walk to the game or in the warm up, you can understand if they are confident or not.

“I think they have to have help, but they are ready to cope with the demands of games in the Premier League. You see, sometimes they have a bad first half and then in the second half they will change, so they have to find that mindset.

“As a coach you have to choose one way or another, I always choose 100 per cent our way. I choose to risk a bit. I believe so much in our way of playing and they will believe too. There is no second way.

“We will adapt some players because we don’t have a different profile. Maybe on Sunday you will see the starting 11 and not feel a lot of change, but you will see it in the game and the positioning or where they receive the ball, the changes made.”

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