- Amorim was appointed over a week ago but will start work early on next week
- United players have reacted to news as they prepare to start working with him
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Manchester United players are optimistic over what they can achieve ahead of Ruben Amorim starting work, according to a report.
Amorim has been confirmed as the Red Devils’ new head coach on a two-and-a-half -year deal, replacing Erik ten Hag, and will officially start work on Monday after seeing out a notice period at Sporting Lisbon.
He has work to do at Old Trafford, with United 13th in the Premier League table after 10 games played and still struggling in Europe despite winning in a European competition for the first time in over a year on Thursday.
But there is a base to work on, with Amorim’s CV impressive despite him not yet being 40 years old and only having coached in Portugal.
According to Manchester Evening News, however, United players are said to be impressed by what he has achieved at Sporting Lisbon and are looking forward to working with him.
Manchester United players are reported to be optimistic over the appointment of Ruben Amorim
Amorim will begin work with the United squad on Monday after seeing out his notice period with Sporting Lisbon
He took charge of his final home game on Tuesday, beating future rivals Manchester City 4-1
United will host Leicester this weekend in the Premier League in their final game under interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is reported to have had an ‘excellent’ impact since taking over.
The Dutchman has overseen two wins and a draw in his three games, and has made his desire to stay on as a coach under Amorim known.
It is, though, looking increasingly unlikely that that will be the case, with the forward revealing on Friday that he has ambitions of being manager of United one day.
Players, nonetheless, are said to be hopeful of a successful season under Amorim’s stewardship despite their dire start to the campaign.
Amorim has won two league titles in four years with Sporting, including the club’s first in 19 years when he led them to the league title in 2020.
They are also top of the Liga Portugal this season, with 10 wins from as many games, scoring 35 goals and conceding just three.
The club are second in the Champions League table and play their final match under Amorim this weekend, away to Braga.
They had their final home match under the Portuguese – a 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City – on Tuesday, which saw the new United boss being thrown in the air by his players.
United players are said to be impressed by his work with Sporting and hopeful of a successful season
They are also thought to have welcomed the work from interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy
Speaking after United’s 2-0 win over PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday, van Nistelrooy revealed that he had still not spoken to Amorim following his appointment.
‘Ruben is focusing on Braga and I focus on Leicester,’ he said. ‘That’s a great one for now and it shows that we are focused on the day by day job and getting the maximum out of the team.
‘Let him focus on Braga and I focus on Leicester and we’ll see after that. I’ve got to check my phone now [to see if he has messaged]… I will do so later.’
