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Rúben Amorim has warned Manchester United supporters that the road to success will be a long and difficult one, following a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town in his first match as manager.
The new head coach, who joined the club just days before the match, admitted that his tactics will take time to implement and that his squad will experience growing pains as they adjust.
United appeared to be on course for a dream debut for Amorim when Marcus Rashford scored just 81 seconds into the match at Portman Road.
However, Ipswich responded with a well-taken equalizer from Omari Hutchinson, and the home team could have snatched a win if not for two crucial saves by goalkeeper André Onana.
Despite the disappointing result, Amorim remained steadfast in his belief that his methods would eventually bring success, even if it meant enduring a tough period of adaptation.
“I know it’s frustrating for the fans, but we are changing so much in this moment with a lot of games,” he said after the match.
“We are going to suffer for a long period and we will try to win games, but this will take time.”
Amorim, who took charge of United after Erik ten Hag’s departure, has a clear vision of how he wants his team to play.
He quickly implemented his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation, but acknowledged that the rapid changes were causing confusion among the players.
“We have to win games, but we could lose if it was not for Onana, so I think we have to understand that and think and be pragmatic that these guys had two days to train to change so much,” he said.
The Portuguese coach is fully aware that a shift in tactics, especially mid-season, is no small feat.
“It’s hard for the players in three days to cope with everything, but we forget about the new idea.”“I think that’s why I was brought here in the middle of the season and we try to cope with the things they are used to doing under Erik ten Hag.”
Amorim made it clear that he’s not deterred by early setbacks. He believes that enduring the tough times now will pay off in the long run.
“Next year in the same stage, we will be here with the same problems or we start now, we risk a little bit, we suffer a little bit and in the next year we will be better at this point so we have to risk it a little bit.”
One of the key changes Rúben Amorim has made is instructing his players to abandon some of the habits they had under the previous regime.
A notable example was full-back Diogo Dalot, who had been tasked with advancing forward in attack under the old system but will now be expected to maintain a more conservative position.
“Some details — they used to pass the ball and go forward, even the centre-backs.”
“Now they have to go back. These type of things. They start going forward and they have to think too much.”
“We need time to do that and during this time we have to manage to win games,” he said. “That is very important and I know that.”
Looking ahead, Rúben Amorim faces a busy schedule with Premier League, Europa League, and Carabao Cup matches coming thick and fast.
He revealed that he will rotate the squad to allow some players more time on the training ground to absorb his methods.
“We have to find a way. “I think the only way to do it is we have games and the guys that don’t play have trainings.”
“Everybody is going to play, everybody is going to be on the bench, so they have the feeling of the game but they need to train.”
