Every word of Ruben Amorim’s press conference vs West Ham United | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim says Benjamin Sesko, Harry Maguire and two other United stars are injury doubts for the next game, but Matheus Cunha is back.

The Manchester United head coach was speaking to the press in the pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s Premier League tie against West Ham United.

The first question was about social media.

“They are talking about Manchester,” Amorim said. “Not because I don’t agree. Most of the times I agree with a lot of things that you say, guys. But it’s a way of me being healthy because it’s enough when we lose, when we draw, when I know that we play bad, my feeling as a coach is enough. I don’t need another feelings around the club.”

“For me, the only way, there is no other way. The only way is to protect myself. Of course, I lose money in sponsors. In Instagram, I could win a lot of money. But for me, the quality of life, the protection of my family, the way I can live a normal life, because I guarantee you, I live a normal life, It’s not worth it.”

“Some more dollars or pounds is not worth it. So I protect myself. No one can be tougher than me when we lose and when we don’t play well. That is the only way, but nowadays, it’s really normal to have that abuse. For me, it’s the only way to survive in this world.”

The second question related to injury issues.

“We have two doubts for the game,” Amorim admitted. “I will not tell you today because we’ll change the way we are going to approach. Let’s see if they can play tomorrow. But the rest of the squad is good. Mateus [Cunha] is back, but I have two players that maybe they cannot play. Harry Maguire is still out. And Sesko.”

The next question was how Amorim views Cunha’s start to his United career.

“I think he has more levels to go;” he answered. “He’s in the different club. Different pressure, but I think he coped with that really well. He was struggling because he was not scoring and because of social media abuse. He was thinking too much about the numbers, but the influence that he has in the team is so important for us. But I think Cunha has so much to grow defensively and offensively.”

Leny Yoro was the next topic. The reporter noted how unhappy the Frenchman looked when he was substituted against Crystal Palace.

“It’s really important;” Amorim said. “Of course, I also spoke with him because he thinks too much. He makes some mistakes in the game, and then he struggles because he’s too young, and he wants to do everything so well. And he’s growing. He’s growing in one moment that everyone here is growing with games, with setbacks.”

“So it’s not easy for him as a young guy. Of course, he cannot give that to the people, the way he came to the bench. So he understands that, but he was really frustrated. On the good side, it shows that he cares, and he was knowing that was not the best game, but he did some things well, and I show him that also. So he’s fit and ready for the next challenge.”

This was followed by a reporter asking “I know we’ve asked you a few times about Shea Lacy, and it seems like he could be getting closer potentially to a debut. You’ve talked a lot about the players playing for Manchester United, the pressure it comes with. Just wonder how ready do you think he is for that limelight? How do you prepare young players for that attention that they’ll receive once they start playing in the first day?”

Amorim replied: “First of all, trying to explain every day how to play, because if you are comfortable in the way, you have no many doubts when you are playing, that will help the kids to play.”

“Then is to work the physicality, to understand that when he’s training with us, give him time with us, to understand that the speed of the pressure, the moments to have the ball, to pass the ball is completely different if you compare to Under 21. That is the only way that I know how to prepare a kid to play for a club, especially for this club. We will have to go there to have the chance. I don’t know when, but he’s ready to play.”

The subject returned to tomorrow’s match and how Amorim feels Nuno Espirito Santo is doing at West Ham.

“I had no doubts that he would have success.” he asserted. “No matter what the club, he’s really experienced. He knows how to work with different squads. He understands really well the league, and that is a plus when you are a manager.”

“We know that he’s going to be tough. He’s really smart preparing the games, understanding the environment of the game, who has more responsibility. All these things around the game is really good on that. But I expect I’m just more focused, of course, the preparation is about the opponents, but we can really focus on what we need to do, what we need to improve, especially if you look at our first half against Crystal Palace. So it’s going to be a tough match.”

Finally, a reporter asked Amorim to comment on Diogo Dalot’s role.

“I think he can do a lot of things like other players better,” he answered. “I think when you see a very good game of Diogo, it can show that he has the quality, and sometimes it drops a little bit.”

“But if you look at our team, everyone is a little bit like that. He’s really powerful. He’s good on set pieces, and you have to understand that in this league is really important. He can play both sides.”

“It depends on what you want, the system that you are going to face. To have that ability of playing both sides, changing position during the game, that can help you also to even to think about the squad for all the league. He’s one player who is international, always playing for National League. He’s a very important player for us, but he needs to improve like any other player.”

The embargoed section of the presser will be released around 10.30pm and will be available here at The Peoples Person.

Featured image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images

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