New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says the team must have an identity as he prepares to take charge of the dugout at Old Trafford, Afrosport reports.
The Portuguese tactician arrived from Sporting Lisbon this week, taking over from interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy who oversaw four games after Erik ten Hag’s dismissal.
Amorim, who signed a three-year deal at Old Trafford and comes off the back of winning four domestic titles in four years with Sporting including a first league crown in 19 years, will be tasked with reviving United’s form after a dismal start to the season sees them sit in 13th place in the Premier League and 15th in the Europa League.
“The team is the most important thing for me,” he told the club website in his first interview. “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. We have to. If our players take the shirt, they will know that it is the Manchester United team.
“Everybody thinks the same – running back, playing, enjoying [it]. 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.”
Amorim’s first game in charge will be a Premier League away match at newly-promoted Ipswich Town next Saturday.
It has left fans puzzled on what to expect in how United will play, and in that regard, the former Portugal International stated: “I think you will see an idea. You could like it or not, I don’t know, but you will see an idea.
“You will see a positioning. You will see something that we want to reach that kind of level. You will feel that.
“We have to know that it’s like two trainings before the first match. This is the best league in the world. But if I have to say something to you, [it’s that] you will see an idea. This I can guarantee.”
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When quizzed on his tactical setup, Amorim said it was important for the players to build character first.
“A lot of people now talk about the 3-4-3 and the 4-3-3 and all that stuff,” he added. “But when I think as a player or as a team-mate of Manchester United, it is not a system or formation – it’s like the character of the players, the way they see the club.
“So we have to focus on that before everything [in terms] 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.”
The preparation towards Amorim’s first game for United has been boosted by the return to training of left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrel Malacia as well as new French centre-back signing Leny Yoro.
