Ruben Amorim keeps repeating one claim that shows huge mistake Manchester United chiefs have made

Ruben Amorim is experiencing major difficulties at Manchester United as he attempts to navigate implementing a new system mid-way through a Premier League campaign.

Forty three days since Rúben Amorim took his first Manchester United training session and he will be sitting at Carrington and wondering how to fix the mess he’s found himself in.

During that time, the Portuguese head coach has took charge of 11 fixtures in three different competitions. The FA Cup awaits him in the New Year.

From his very first interview, it was clear that the 39-year-old was going to implement his own system. Straight away.

Things didn’t look too bad at first. After winning 4-0 against Everton, he had two wins and a draw, things were looking promising. “The storm will come, we are going to be found out in some games,” Amorim said after that win.

A storm has certainly come. United have lost four in a row and their last three Premier League outings. Staggeringly, they are seven points away from the relegation zone.

Amorim’s United have had four full training sessions

Now, there’s questions about the system. It was inevitable. Amorim is saying that he will stick to his plan, which is what every single United fan and journalist wanted when he came through the door. After some losses, certain opinions have changed.

Yet, Amorim continues to bang the same drum when speaking to the media. He continues to mention the lack of time he’s had on the training pitch. Four sessions with the whole squad to be exact.

“You cannot go back. We have to continue to push. We’ve had four trainings altogether, I know what you guys are trying to do but I’m here because of my idea,” he said after defeat to the Magpies.

This is a message that he has continued to push and while some may argue that it’s an excuse and United should never be in this position anyway, it is ultimately the truth.

It is also easy to forget that United’s eighth-place finish last term was extremely complimentary to Erik ten Hag’s side. Analytical site Understat have the Reds 15th in their xPTS (Expected Points) table from 2023/24, with 44.42 xPTS.

In that model, no team in the division outperformed their xPTS more than United (15.58). A lot of people do not like statistics in football but it was also clear for all those who watched the games at Old Trafford.

United chiefs made a mistake

Amorim’s insistence at mentioning the amount of training is almost always followed by his claims that the team will continue to try and play his style of football. He wants to build blocks but acknowledges the difficulties that come without results.

However, there is no hiding behind the fact that this is all the more difficult in the busiest period of the season. United have played 11 games in 36 days – essentially a 90-minute clash every three days.

It is quite staggering that this was allowed to happen. Ten Hag received a contract extension, £200 million in transfers and two more international breaks than he deserved before INEOS pulled the plug.

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Then, those experts decided to convince Amorim of a mid-season move just before the most intense period of the campaign. They knew he would be changing the system, like most replacements would do.

Four training sessions with the entire squad is the message Amorim is sending and that points towards the extremely difficult position INEOS have put on the club with their decision.

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