Friday’s briefing: Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim laughs off Sean Dyche’s claims | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim has laughed off Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche’s claim that he would have won more matches as Manchester United manager as the pair prepare to go head-to-head.

Under-fire Arne Slot does not believe Liverpool’s sixth loss in seven matches has increased the pressure on his team ahead of this weekend’s clash with Aston Villa.

Players and staff of Sheffield Wednesday have been paid wages a day early after administrators took control of the struggling club.

Amorim dismissed Dyche criticism

Ruben Amorim has laughed off Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche’s claim that he would have won more matches as Manchester United manager as the pair prepare to go head-to-head.

Saturday’s Premier League trip to the City Ground comes on the one-year anniversary of the Portuguese’s appointment as Erik ten Hag’s successor.

Amorim was unable to oversee an immediate upturn as United stumbled home 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final, leading to criticism by all and sundry.

Dyche was among those to remark about the Portuguese’s set-up, saying in May that he would win more matches if he was in charge simply by playing a 4-4-2 formation.

Amorim shrugged off those remarks ahead of facing the recently appointed Forest boss, saying: “First of all, maybe it’s true if we play 4-4-2 we won more games.

“But I always said that I have a way of playing that is going to take a while and then in the future it’s going to be better, so we don’t know that.

“Then I can look at Sean Dyche as a manager and then as a pundit. If you are a pundit and you don’t say very strong things, I don’t want to watch you! I’m the same.

“So, I can understand that it’s a completely different job and I know that Sean Dyche is really smart, and he knows how to play the game.”

No added pressure on Liverpool after losing run, says Slot

Under-fire Arne Slot does not believe Liverpool’s sixth loss in seven matches has increased the pressure on his team ahead of this weekend’s clash with Aston Villa.

The Premier League champions won seven straight matches in all competitions as they bounced back from their shoot-out loss to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield.

But that run came to a halt with a late defeat to the Eagles at Selhurst Park a month ago, sending the Reds into a spiral that they have yet to climb out of.

Palace got the better of Liverpool for the third time this season in Wednesday’s 3-0 Carabao Cup fourth-round win at Anfield as Slot’s decision to leave out stars and make 10 changes backfired.

The Dutchman said he had no regrets despite their latest loss and brushed aside the suggestion it had increased the pressure heading into Saturday’s return to Premier League action at home to Villa.

“I don’t think it’s possible if you lose five out of six that there’s now after six out of seven even more pressure,” Slot said.

“If you’re on a run of results like this, if you play for Liverpool, if you manage Liverpool, you know the pressure is there and I don’t think it has changed much after this loss.

“But if it did then maybe the most positive thing about tonight was that the position we were in, 2-0 down and we weren’t really pushing for a goal because we weren’t able to, the fans were behind the team, were supporting us.”

Shoots of recovery at Wednesday

Players and staff of Sheffield Wednesday have been paid wages a day early after administrators took control of the struggling club.

The Championship side’s financial problems have caused delays in payments in five of the last seven months but that pattern has been broken with the Owls now under the control of administrator Kris Wigfield.

Henrik Pedersen’s side have been given a 12-point deduction for being placed into receivership, leaving them 16 points adrift of safety on minus six, but with supporters having now ended a boycott of the club – that was put in place in protest against former owner Dejphon Chansiri – there are signs of a corner having been turned.

A statement from the club said: “This marks a major step forward in stabilising the club’s operations and rebuilding trust both internally and with our supporters.

“We couldn’t have achieved this without the incredible backing of you Wednesdayites.

“Your return to Hillsborough, the surge in merchandise and ticket sales and your continued belief in the club have made this possible.”

The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust also confirmed a commitment of £20,000 towards supporting the club, with a crowdfunding campaign launched in order to further help get the Owls back on their feet.”

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