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Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has strongly suggested that the “evolution of the game” is to blame for the club’s woes.
Amorim has endured a difficult time since he replaced Erik ten Hag in November last year.
Despite having overseen 30 matches since his appointment, United remain stuck in the bottom half of the Premier League table, with Sunday’s draw against Manchester City merely cementing their position in 13th place.
The Red Devils have won just two of their last eight matches, and at this point, the Europa League stands as their only realistic chance of salvaging the season, with the added incentive of Champions League qualification should they go on to win the competition.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Amorim suggested that United’s struggles stem from the club’s failure to adapt to the modern game – a factor he believes is contributing to the challenges he and his players are currently facing.
Amorim also stressed that United can no longer depend on individual brilliance or the aura of fear that once underpinned Sir Alex Ferguson’s era of dominance.
The Portuguese coach told Sky Sports, “The game is completely different and you have to be so good in your base and then that individual aspect and the freedom and the fluidity of the game is going to appear. But, for that, I think we need time.”
“There was an evolution, you can like it or not, but there was an evolution because you have all the games from the opponent’s detail, from your departments, so you can understand better the movements that they make.”
“In that evolution, you have to be better tactically. Sometimes I talk to [Darren] Fletcher, about how he prepared the games with Sir Alex Ferguson, it’s completely different.”
He continued, “There was more a feeling, that aspect of the individual talent. I think today is not enough and you can see some of the best teams, especially if you remember the years of Galacticos, they had maybe the best players in the world, but you need to have a connection.”
“We cannot win the games just like I said with the individual aspect and let the players do whatever they feel. I don’t see the game like that. I see the game in a different way and again, nowadays, they know everything about our players. The way [Alejandro] Garnacho will use the right foot on the left side, every detail the opponent knows.”
“So we need to have an idea of how to play as a team and then expect the individual part to help us. Because in the end, that is the crucial point to make a difference in the game. Sometimes we lack that creativity in the last third, sometimes the quality. And when I talk about the quality, it’s not just the individual quality, it’s the understanding of the game in the final third.”
“So I want to see both because I want to entertain people, but I also like to see my team defending like they defend in this game.”
Up next for United is a trip to Lyon for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie. They’ll then head to St James’ Park on Sunday to face Newcastle, before welcoming Lyon to Old Trafford for the return leg.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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