Every word from Ruben Amorim’s Wolverhampton Wanderers pre-match press conference | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim says there is “no chance” Bruno Fernandes will play against Wolves tomorrow.

The Manchester United head coach was speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League tie.

The presser took place immediately after the Newcastle United post-match one, with comments embargoed until now.

Injury Update

The first question was about injuries and whether anyone who is on the injury list will be available.

“No;” he said. “I don’t know how Mase [Mason Mount] is going to be for that game. I think Kobbie Mainoo is not going to be ready. Bruno is not going to be ready. I think Matta [Matthijs de Ligt] is not going to be ready. Harry [Maguire] is not going to be ready. So I think we are not going to have more players.”

The reporter asked “Would you expect them, possibly for the Leeds game, any of them back?”

“I expect Bruno,” he said. “Bruno was already saying that he needs to train, but we don’t know. We don’t know. Kobbie Mainoo is going to start on the pitch also. We will see, Matta is struggling a little bit. I read the same thing. I don’t expect to have the players for this game, for the other game. I don’t know.”

The next question was about Wolves and how important it is not to take a step back against them.

“Yeah, of course. They show that against Arsenal, they could want at least one point,” he said. “In Premier League, you never know. They have their problems. We have our problems, but in this game, there is no excuses. We need to win. We’ll try to win the game.”

Was there any chance Fernandes would twist Amorim’s arm to play tomorrow?

“No chance he’s going to play. No chance he’s going to play against Wolves. You can write that;” he laughed.

On recruitment

The next question was: “On recruitment, you’ve mentioned in the past that there’s been mistakes here in previous years. It’s been a long-term problem. It feels like this year, recruitment has been good. We’ve seen you spoke about Ayden [Heaven], Dorgu has had a good game tonight. All the players in the summer feel like they’re contributing and improving the team. Why has recruitment been right?”

Amorim answered: “I don’t know. Sometimes you need a little bit luck, I think they have potential to do more. I think we are doing things. Sometimes I have one idea, Jason and the board has another idea, and every decision that we make, we need to reach a common ground. That is really important because you don’t need to make everything for the manager because the manager can change, then you need to change everything. But you also need to understand that the manager understands the way of playing.”

“Every player that comes here, we will try to… If you don’t reach common ground, the player will not come. We just try to do that. We try to make all the assessments of how they live, how they train, the characteristics. I think we did well, but I think they have more to give. If you talk about Cunha, for example, Ayden is a young guy, Cunha and Bryan, they are from here, from our league, so it’s easier for them to perform.”

On players starting to understand the system

The next question was: “Ruben, you’ve used different formations in recent weeks, different systems. You’ve used different players in different positions in those systems. You’ve used players who haven’t played for a long time. Yet everyone seems to be on the same page in these last few matches. From your perspective, how satisfying is it that the coaching that you’ve done as a team over this time seems to be having an effect on so many different players in so many different ways?”

Amorim replied: “First of all, it’s a process. When I came here in the last season, I understood that maybe I don’t have the players to play well in that system, but it was the beginning of the process. We are trying to build an identity. Today is a different moment. We don’t have a lot of players we need to adapt, but they already know that they understand why we are changing. It’s not because of the pressure of you guys, of the fans. It’s because now we understand the way we want to play. The principles are the same. We can change the system.”

“I think we are going to become a better team because when all the players return, we are not going to play all the time with three defenders. We are going to improve. But that was something that I was talking about. But then when you talk about changing the system all the time, I cannot change, because the players will understand that I’m changing because of you. I think that is the end for the manager. So, when we are playing well in our system, I think that is the moment to change if it’s the better thing to win the next game. That’s what we did today.”

The next reporter asked Amorim how pleased he is to be able to keep his opponents guessing and having to adjust their tactics in the opening part of the game.

“Today, we already knew that the way they would jump in the pressure, and that will be massive. I remember the game from last year. I think they have more physicality. If we go in the back five, they already knew the player that need to jump to and transform that game in one against one. One against one against this team, I think we will lose. I’m just trying to improve in all the mistakes that I did in the last season. I am trying to learn a little bit and to change things.”

On Bruno Fernandes

The BBC’s Simon Stone then asked: “You mentioned about Bruno. Previously, you’ve spoken about how he’s a leader and he’s invested in the team. How important is he now, even though he’s not playing, speaking to the players, whatever it is, delivering your messages?”

“He cannot be that guy that is not playing, is not talking and speaking,” Amorim explained. “He’s always speaking. That’s why he’s the captain.”

“He has bad things sometimes, the way he move his arms, but he has a lot of good things. He’s always living the game, the practice, every time. Every time he makes recovery from the game, he’s the guy that is going to watch the other guy’s training in that day. There’s a lot of things that you guys don’t see, but that he does. He’s a great leader.”

Stone asked “When he can’t play, is he…”

“Yeah, all the time,” Amorim interrupted. “He’s the guy that is watching the trainings. Even after treatment, he’s going there. I don’t know if he wants my job or not, but he’s a leader. The guy is a leader.”

There will not be an embargoed section of this presser.

Kick-off tomorrow is at 8.15pm. See our predicted XI for the game here.

Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images

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