Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim sat down for a half-hour interview on the club’s US tour and spoke openly about last season’s struggle and why he is convinced he will get things right next season and lead the team back to glory
Ruben Amorin sat down in Chicago from a break during Manchester United’s summer tour of the US and chatted openly and honestly about his first season in charge, the challenges he faced and why he believes he will lead the fallen giants back to the top, where so many other managers have failed.
Here is his full half-hour conversation, involving Mirror Football’s David McDonnell, at United’s training base in Chicago:
Ruben, we’ve spoken a lot to the players here. They’ve said it’s been a very positive tour. They’ve talked a lot about the change of culture that they feel is happening. When you arrived, what was the culture like and what have you done to try and change it?
“First of all, I think it’s one thing that is all about the club. It’s not one person that arrives and says we need to change everything. Omar and Jason, they were aligned about everything we need to change. Of course, the manager is an important piece. Because if the manager doesn’t want [it], it’s really hard. But I feel that we are more organised nowadays. I think everybody knows their places. You know that this is my job. Everyone knows that. And that looks like a small thing, but it’s a big thing. I think we improved in even the medical department, the nutrition. We are so much better. What we eat, the way we behave on tour, on the pitch. The rules. I think everything is important. I know that they are not kids and I don’t treat the players like kids. But I think these small rules can help a group to be strong.”
You said there that it’s been made to feel like it’s your job. Do you feel like you’ve been given the authority to make all those changes you’ve just made? And that it’s your way?
“I don’t know, but I think all the managers that come here can change things and can dictate some things around the team. I think that is clear. But the manager cannot do that by himself. Because I cannot change, I cannot contract people. There are some things that I don’t know. So I need to have top people around me to help me to change the culture. So I think it’s not the question of if I have the authority. It’s my job. They [the club] want that. But it’s bigger than that. I need all the club in the same direction.”
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I know you don’t want to dwell too much on last season. But because it was so tough, was there ever a point last season where you thought I don’t know if I can change this?
“It’s not that feeling. But there was mostly a feeling that I’m disappointing all these people. That was the feeling that made me think ‘what should I do?’ There were some moments last year that were really hard on me. Not because…I know what to do to change the club, but because I’m disappointing all these people. And I know that in football, when you lose so many games, it’s hard on everybody to believe in one idea and all the changes. So there were some moments last year that I was really, really frustrated.”
You said in your last press conference that you don’t need new players to have a new team. I think some fans will think that results were so poor last season that you need a load of new players. You obviously don’t feel like that?
“Yeah. I think if you look at every player, I think everyone can look at the player and say, he can play better. I have that feeling. And I think it’s more, I say that so many times, it’s a team thing. It’s more like all the culture, the pace, the intensity, all these things. It’s to understand the way we want to play. Last year was tough to do that with so many games and so many problems. That is the truth. We are in a better place, but we are just beginning. Because even the pressure of the game is going to be different. We are playing well, you can feel more freedom in the players. But then, when it starts, the Premier League is going to be different. We will be ready for that. But I truly believe that there are a lot of players who can do better. And I can do better.”
It maybe feels like a long way off, but do you at this club, if everything was to go right, that this club could still be Premier League, Champions League winners? Do you feel like everything is here for that to happen in the future?
“I have no doubts, because there are some things that you cannot buy. And this club has. The pedigree, the history, the fans. We have that. I think that is clear. Then the money. We have money. We have money without the Champions League. So we can, we’ll have money and more money in the future. And we are doing everything. You talk with Omar and all these guys, they are making all the strategy to have more money in the future. So that will not be a problem. And then I think it’s clearly the culture. If we have a different culture, with all that, with all the pedigree, the money, all these things, we can return to our place. And that is clear.”
You mentioned about last season and how you felt. But for someone who has gone into management and everything has gone pretty well, you come to England, you’ve got a young family. What did it feel like when you were going home after another defeat and more problems and more negativity? How did that feel when you got back?
“To tell you the truth, it’s not how I returned to my house after the games. How I left to go to the games. Because I felt that sometimes we will struggle. All the struggles that we had in the games, I feel it before the games. So that is the hardest part. To go to the games and know that we are not going to be competitive, how we should be. That is the hardest part. When I returned, I just looked to my family and tried to think in different things. But I was really frustrated. But if you want to know the most difficult moment, it was before the games. Because I knew that we will struggle in specific games.”
Is that feeling gone now?
“Nowadays I’m better. I’m completely… I can feel… I’m more excited. I think also I learned a lot. Small things. How to build up. How to sometimes not be so romantic. All these things are gone now. I think we will be a better team. Not just because I truly believe that we can be better. But I truly believe that I will be better managing the season.”
You did have support in the stadium. That’s not unusual for Manchester United managers and supporters. The team did finish 15th. Everybody knows. You know. I know. Everyone knows. That is not acceptable. But most people have said we trust Ruben to get it right. And you say it will be better. Is that a pressure? Because against Arsenal, against Fulham, against Burnley, against Man City, against Chelsea, it has to be better otherwise people will say you’re lying to us.
“Yeah. It’s not… Sometimes you are right or wrong. But if I say it, it’s because I believe it. And that is really clear. And again, we cannot control the results. But the way we play, the way we perform, the way we connect with the fans, all these small things, we are going to do it no matter what. And so that is going to improve our club and is going to improve our team. And I know that all the credit that I had when I arrived, I know that last year was used on that. And now we have to perform. And I really like the pressure. And I will be OK. If I have the feeling that before the game that we are going to be competitive we’ll be OK. I just don’t want to return to that feeling that we are thinking that it’s not a 50-50 game.”
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How do you deal personally with pressure?
“I think this is not the moment that I felt more pressure in my life. I had my career as a player and I remember to finish my career really soon because of the injuries. I remember that me and my wife we have an Excel with all the money that we have, all the things that I need. I want to help my family. All this responsibility. And I felt the pressure in that time. Nowadays, I don’t feel any pressure about that. I just don’t. It’s more like an ego thing. I want to be manager of Manchester United for a while. And I took five years to choose this club so I don’t want to fail. That is the only pressure. The other pressure that is that pressure at the end of my career as a footballer was different. That was more difficult to deal with.”
Sir Alex Ferguson was here for a long time. But everybody that’s followed has gone after two or three years. You must feel you need to stay longer than that?
“Yeah, I want to stay. I want to stay 20. That is my goal and I truly believe in that. Something will happen. Always do. In some moments I will be lucky. I had a lot of luck during my career as a manager and my idea is to stay for many years. But again we know that the results will dictate that. I know that last season I used all the credits but I’m ready to start fresh.”
I know you want to speak about the players who are here but the players who aren’t here obviously generate a lot of headlines. Marcus clearly has gone to Barcelona. You still have four players there that you didn’t bring on tour. you mentioned that they may come back in the squad but most people don’t think they will. You go back home to the training ground on Wednesday. What do they do? What do you do? How does that interaction work?
“I think it’s like we just need to follow the markets. So the market is open. There are players that clearly show that they don’t want to be here and that is normal. They are not bad and I’m good. I’m not the bad and they are good. it’s not that situation. It’s a simple situation that they want new challenges. So we will try to use this space to prepare the team that I think is going to be here. If the market closes and then they are Manchester United players we as a club have to treat them in the same conditions. But in this moment I’m just working with the players that I think is going to stay and the other guys are trying to find a solution for their careers.”
You said that you don’t need a lot of players this year because there is no Europe we don’t know how the Cups will go. Is this squad the right size or have you still got too many players or is this what you will work?
“I think we have a good size. Of course we have young kids that are not going to be 100% of the time with us. Something can happen but for someone to come to our team we need to do all that work that we did with Brian and Cunha. We need to be really careful to assess the character the way they play. Try to imagine if they play abroad, try to imagine them physically, technically playing in our club. But I’m really happy with the team and without European competitions I want a small squad so everyone feels really important. If you have a lot of players you have one week to prepare and a lot of players are going to be out and then in training they will be frustrated and then the training will drop, the quality. So I want a small group. I think we need to improve the academy. We need to use all the academy players to put in these positions to have space to train in. the first team.”
Was the Malaysia and Hong Kong post-season tour the end of last season or was that the start of a new beginning?
“I think it was more the end. I think if you look to everybody, everyone was really tired. Everyone was really frustrated. I was really happy for the end of the season. I think we start. We start the new season when we catch the plane to return to Manchester.”
How confident are you about this season?
“Confident. When I see team training and team playing, my humour – you call it humour – it goes with the team. If I feel that everything is aligned, I feel more excited. If I feel more excited, I see more video, I see more football, I have more ideas. So I’m really confident in this moment.”
You look quite animated and excited. At times last season, you didn’t look that way. Did you ever have any doubts about what you’d taken on at this club?
“It’s not the case of not knowing what to do to change the club. I felt last season in some moments I just needed to survive to the end. Because everything I need to do, I will need to do with a new start, with more time, with some changes that I cannot do now. And that is even people around the staff and players. My goal in that moment, three months to the end, was trying to win the Europa League. We struggled a lot, trying to save players, to play 60 minutes. You play against Newcastle, all these clubs, and you have to perform. Or else we will have problems, but you need to take one guy 60 minutes. And you cannot do it in Manchester United. You cannot think like that. I cannot change three guys because I have to try to maintain the team fit to win the Europa League. I had that feeling during the season that I’m so frustrated, I cannot do nothing and I acknowledge that, so I have to wait. And to wait, and being manager of Manchester United, is like going to a fight with my hands like this (puts hands down his side). So that was the frustration.”
Did you have conversations with the club at that period? Reassurances? Because you’re so much surviving, it felt maybe fragile at that point, that you might even think you had to walk away at that point.
“No, to walk away is more an ego thing. I’m like that. If you saw Sporting: I won the league and we had the second place in the next year, in the third year, when we lost Matheus Nunes, Palhinha, and all these guys, we were fourth in the league, and I put my place in the… So it’s a thing that my agent says, you don’t need to sign a big contract. Because when things go bad, I put my place, because it’s, I don’t know, maybe an ego thing. I’m maybe really romantic about things.”
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I think people appreciate that emotional side to you, that you’ve got that connection with the club and with the fans. How do you translate that into making this a successful season? What kind of things are you doing on this pre-season tour?
“I think we need to be a little bit more emotional in this team. With the emotion, we become more sacrifice, more pace, more energy. And I think we are improving on that. I think competition is going to help. So if you see the teams like, if Cunha is playing, Mason is on the bench. Bruno and Kobbie are in the same position. Of course, Bruno can do different positions and even Kobbie. So these things are going to help us. And I think it’s a perfect year to do that without European competition. So we need to put the standards, and then I think we’ll be ready in the next season, in the other season, to cope with less trainings and all the culture is already here, so we can play, play, play.”
How important was the cultural change that you’ve implemented? How important was it to make those changes and try and change the culture around this club?
“I think it’s really important, especially when you are losing. Sometimes you have that feeling that we are losing, let’s change a little bit the standards just for them to be with me. I didn’t feel that last season and they also saw that. So they understand that when I say one thing, I will do it. That is really important. And I think the change of culture is more a club thing than a manager thing. I cannot do everything by myself. But I think we improved in every department. Medical department, nutrition, we have a new chef, we have new rules. We have rules, and the rules are not to treat the players as babies. They have sons. I treat them as a man, but they have rules now. And that can change the way you train. If you don’t train in the right way, I have footage to show you. And I show you in front of everybody. So I’m always on top. I will expect to be in one phase, that I don’t need to do anything. Because they will push each other. But in the moment, if you train one time bad, I will show you the image. I will not speak with you, just speak. I will show everything. So that really requires a lot of energy. But what I feel in this year is that I have more people to do that. And we have a leadership group now. It’s not just Bruno. It’s not just Harry. It’s six guys now. They are responsible for the group. There are some things that in the last year I had to deal with that. I said to them in this year, you deal with that. Small issues are with you guys. You are responsible. All these small changes, I think it’s helping the group.”
Who is in the leadership group?
“We have Bruno, we have Licha, we have Harry, we have Diogo, we have Tom and we have Nous. So it’s not just the oldest one, Nous is in the group because he’s a character that I like. And I try to understand the dynamic of the group. Try to reach every space. They are the guys that are responsible to keep everyone in line.”
You made a couple of big signings this summer. I know your focus is only on United but you look at Liverpool, who have made significant signings, spent a lot of money. They were champions last season. Manchester City have done a similar thing. Is there a concern that you look at them and you think that gap is only just going to increase and, whatever you do, it’s not going to bring you closer to them?
“I think if we were in a different moment, I would be more concerned about that. We have so big issues here that I’m so excited to change all these things that I’m not thinking in that way. If we had maybe a better season, we are looking at less problems, I would look at the opponents and say, I’m just focused on what we need to improve here. I’m really happy with the players that we bring. They proved in the Premier League, so I’m not concerned about the physical aspect. If they are fit to play in the Premier League, if they are struggling. I’m really happy with that. I’m really happy with the character. And I think it’s a good thing. I think it personally, I think Jason and also Omar, that all the players that we want to bring to Manchester, any coach will want them. This is not my style. And I can guarantee you, if you bring any manager here, they will say, Bryan Mbeumo? Thank you. Matheus Cunha? Thank you. And then you have the potential of these kids that are really important for us. And when we have a really, really, really strong base, I think it’s going to be the core business to bring these really potential guys to fill in the team because it’s really hard to buy players.”
And as the target next season, Europe, we spoke to quite a few of the players who said that an immediate return to Europe has to be the priority. Whether that’s top four or not.
“I know that is a massive gap, from where we finished last season and the Europa League. But it’s Manchester United. We need to return to Europe.”
You said you’re happy with the squad and it’s shaping up quite nicely. In goal and at the other end with the striker, there are areas of interest. Would you still hope or expect to have new personnel in those areas?
“To hope is a strong word. We are always looking to improve the team. And we have some characteristics that we would like to have. But again, it depends on the market. It depends on the sales. We’ll see. But I’m really happy. And I think even when you talk about Andre, you can see the goalkeepers, even Tom is linear (think he means leaner), he’s a different goalkeeper. Altay [Bayindir] did really well and Andre Onana is going to be better like the other guys that are getting better this year. “
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Ruben, the club have had a lot of managers since Sir Alex Ferguson left. There have been a lot of plans and ambitions, then the team’s results get problematic, the ownership lose the nerve and they change the manager. A lot of fans are sick of seeing that and they accept that there might be some hard days to come, but they have to see this through. How confident are you that even if there are challenges this season, the club realise they can’t keep doing what it’s done before? They have to back you long term.
“I always felt that. In some moments in the last season, I was more concerned about me than them. They always show the support. And if you try to remember one team, one big team, massive team, that lost so many games and the manager kept their job, you will not find it. So that shows more than words that they support me. I think it’s really important to say to the fans that this is a club thing. Of course the manager is really important, but all this idea of the culture, how we want to buy players, what kind of players we want, is a club thing. In the meetings with Bryan, with Cunha, we said that. Don’t go to a club because of the manager. Go because of the idea of the club. And they are here because of the idea of the club. “
On Sir Jim Ratcllffe, he spoke very enthusiastically about you. He said ‘I like Ruben, he tells me to “f**k off”’. Can you just talk about how often you two speak? Do you message him a lot? You seem to have a very frank and honest relationship.
“We speak on the phone, he sends me messages, he sends me gifs. You call it gifs? Joking. So we have this kind of relationship. I think it’s really easy to deal with Jim. Easy in the sense that if you know your stuff, if you know how to explain any decision, you’ll be fine with him. If you try to use some bullshit in big words with him, he’s going to knock you. So for me it’s really easy. I will say whatever I need to say with, of course, a lot of respect, like with everybody, I know that he’s the owner of the club, I know my place. But when I need to say something, I will say it naturally. With no bullshit – I can say that – with no bullshit, I’m not around the subject, I’m really direct. I think it’s something that he likes a lot.”
You seem as sure in your own mind about what you wanted to do as you ever did, you’ve been quite clear since you came to the club. What you wanted to do. Has that ever changed?
“Not because I believe, but I changed so many things during my short career as a manager. When I see a different thing that works, I will use it. I copy so many things about other managers, the way they play, warm-ups. I stole warm-ups. So I’m not so stubborn, but I truly believe that to be a really strong team, we need to have a base. When the base is okay, we will start doing different things. I truly believe in that, it’s a process. I’m not the coach, I’m not the coach. And I said that in the interview. I’m not the coach that is going to try, in that case, to survive, to put an idea that is not mine. Since day one, it’s the only way I know what to do. Let’s build the base, are we going to suffer? Yes.”
When you talk about midfielders and a lack of pace, is that a general fitness thing? Or is that a personal thing?
“Of course there are players that are not going to have a bigger pace. It’s something that you cannot change. But if you look at the same players in these games, the pace is different. That is my feeling. I think it’s the time to train. That I think is clear. I think even the certainty of the movements can help a player to be faster. If you are thinking, I jump, I don’t jump. We train, when they need to jump, they already know. So I start sooner. Sometimes it’s one meter. Sometimes it’s one second. And that is something that the tactical aspect and the physical aspect are together. “
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Like Kobbie Mainoo with the interception for the pass for Bruno to score against West Ham?
“Mainoo, with those feet, playing the ball, if he finds the right pace, playing like every time I give the ball, I find a new solution. Every time the guy is running back, I can follow the guy because he can. He’s going to be faster. “
You said you want to be here for the long term. You said 20 years. You know, we all know, the average lifespan of a manager is two or three years now. With the exception of Pep, Klopp, Fergie and Wenger before. What makes you confident that you can stay here long term?
“One of the things is the experience that I had. I know that it’s different. But if you look, Sporting was the same thing. They said that in three months I’m out. They said that I had 3% chance of winning one title with Sporting. It was the same thing. I know that the pressure is different. But I truly believe on that and I don’t like to change club. I like to bond with people and carry on. So, I took, I don’t say five years because I was not thinking about leaving during the five years but the last years I was waiting for the right club. I know it sounds crazy. But I chose this club. But I had the feeling. So, I think I’m not going to have that feeling of I need to experience pain. I just want to bond, to be part of it. Until I can, I will stay here.”
Just finally, you’ve made some big decisions. With Alejandro, it seemed like there was a willingness from your side and his side to make it work. And you praised him a lot. You must feel it’s a pity that it’s not worked out?
I think Garnacho you can understand and you can see, he’s talented, he’s a really talented boy. And sometimes things don’t work out. You cannot explain specifically what it is. But I have the feeling, I think it’s clear that Garnacho wants a different thing with a different leadership. And I can understand that. So I think it’s not a problem. Sometimes you adapt to one guy, you have the connection. Other times, you want a new challenge. So, we try to make everything okay to all the parts. To the club, to the coach and to the players. So, it’s a natural thing in football.”
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