Ruben Amorim explains how Manchester United’s transfer plans have been tweaked following Europa League failure | OneFootball

Manchester United’s official season may be over, but the Red Devils will once again take to the field on Wednesday, for their friendly against ASEAN All-Stars at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Malaysia.

And Ruben Amorim fielded questions during the pre-match press conference, and naturally he was asked about the disastrous season and the implications of missing out on European football next season.

The head coach pointedly revealed that the club’s transfer activity is expected to be limited as a result due to PSR restrictions, and his job is to improve the players at his disposal.

That includes relying on the Academy even more while once again, the Portuguese tactician made it a point to mention that the fans should expect more turbulence in the coming season.

On lack of CL football

“Omar (Berrada, the chief executive) is here, he can explain better than me. We always prepare two plans: one with Champions League, one without Champions League.

“Without Champions League, we don’t need a big squad, we can control the squad in a better way. Then we have a plan that is to bring some new players, of course.

“But our big plan is to improve the team that we have, is to improve our academy, because I think that is the future. It was the past, so can be the future.

“It’s not going to change so much because we have the financial fair play rules. We are not allowed to do much in this summer, even with Champions League, so we are prepared for that.

“It’s important to stick together. We are going to struggle, it is not going to be everything right away but I have a feeling and I see the team improving and that is the most important thing.”

Aims for next season

As for the aims he is setting for next season, the former Sporting CP boss did not go into great detail about securing Champions League qualification, but he explained that a less intense schedule could actually be an advantage with the players having more time to train and get attuned with his specific demands.

“The target I will not tell you now. If you want a target, it is to win the first game and then we will see. We have a lot to do during this summer, we have to prepare the team but when you are Manchester United people are going to expect us to be at the top.

“But we have to understand the context. So I don’t want a team to think about a big target. Just a small target is to win the first game and then we pass to the second game.

“I have to say that for us not to be in the Champions League could be an advantage to perform well, to perform better, to prepare better for the games, to build that work that we need for the future. I think it’s a good thing for us to take advantage, not to have European games.”

Bruno’s future

The topic of Bruno Fernandes’ future was also broached and the head coach made it clear that he is planning the team around the club captain, indicating the 30-year-old is going nowhere in the summer.

“You can see by his performance, the leadership and passion he has for the game. You can see that in the last game, I felt the team was without pressure and performed quite well.

“We had difficult moments but you can see Bruno took responsibility. He should because he’s the captain and has his experience. He’s really important for what we want to build with this team.”

A lot of Carrington wonderkids have made the trip, and Amorim was asked whether he felt anybody in particular could shine and cement their place in the team moving forward.

The coach explained that in today’s climate, it is important to temper expectations when dealing with young players and he felt having seen most of the players in training for the last six months, he knows all of them can flourish in the post-season trip.

Academy representation

“One issue is we push too much from the beginning and you have social media and all the pressure around the young kids. It’s hard to control. I don’t want to say any names but I believe in all of them and sometimes, like you said, you have surprises.

“This is a massive club and that is a big question – sometimes we put our young kids on a pedestal and that is an important thing to change, because we need to control that.”

“All the players here, we use in training. So we know the players. For this kind of game, we bring players for the problems we have at this moment.

“But, sometimes, you have surprises with young players. Like with Ayden, every time he played, he looks like a first-team player.”

Amorim thanked the Malaysian fans and the global support and said he is looking forward to the game on Wednesday.

“I expect always the maximum from our fans, they’re incredible. You can feel the passion at Old Trafford and here is the same. No matter the region, the passion is amazing. I expect a big party – they expect us to win and perform.”

Feature image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

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