Christian Eriksen has opened up on working under Ruben Amorim at Manchester United on the heels of his move to the Bundesliga this summer, revealing how challenging some of the players found the Portuguese manager’s openness with the press.
The Denmark international was one of the senior figures in Amorim’s dressing room when he arrived at the club in November 2024, but made just 22 appearances under the new head coach across all competitions.
Amorim made a splash upon his arrival in Manchester not just for his playing philosophy and commitment to his 3-4-3 formation, but for his willingness to be candid in the press.
In January, Amorim held one of his most notorious press conferences as he dubbed the team – then languishing in the bottom-half of the table, where they would finish the Premier League season – the ‘worst team maybe in the history of Man United’.
Public comments like that, Eriksen noted from his new berth at German club Wolfsburg, did not do much to raise team morale.
‘That didn’t help,’ Eriksen told the Times. ‘Yeah, that didn’t help at all. I mean, that was not… I don’t think that helped the players at all.
‘Some stuff you can say inside and it’s not too clever to say outside, to put extra pressure and put an extra label on the players who were already trying to do their best.
Christian Eriksen has lifted the lid on what Manchester United players think of Ruben Amorim’s public criticisms
The Portuguese head coach has rarely held back in press conferences with his brutal honesty
‘I don’t think that helped at all, no. Then if he’s right or wrong, whatever, but I think for us it was a bit of like, ‘Oh, here we go again. Another headline.”
Eriksen also opened up on the constant criticism Man United players receive from star pundits, with many of their club legends featuring on podcasts, matchday commentary, or newspaper interviews.
Pressure, the midfielder admitted, is doubly heaped on current players at Old Trafford by those who previously wore their shirts – with those stars then sometimes going on to judge them in the media.
‘Any position, you’ll be like, ‘Oh yeah, now we have Casemiro but you have to compare him to Roy Keane,’ or, ‘We had (Robin) van Persie here, so this striker now has to be able to do this.” Eriksen explained.
‘So everything at United is like straight away when you wear the logo, you bring all that history with you, you have to follow up what was there before and change that or make it better, which, of course, is almost impossible when you win (the title) eight out of 11 years in the Premier League.
‘That puts a lot of pressure on the players and then, obviously, when you get into a situation where you change a lot of managers, a lot of structures, then yeah, it’s tough as a player to really succeed.’
While Eriksen admitted that the club itself did a good job at ‘protecting’ the players from outside noise, ‘there’s a lot of pundits, former United players, who have an opinion and also with the fans.
‘Obviously the noise outside – that puts a lot of pressure on you. From the inside, it was more just if you could shut up everything else, I think you would be able to succeed.’
Amorim was described by Eriksen as being ‘very honest’ during his time playing under him
As well as public admonishments from their manager United players must weather critique from former stars like Roy Keane and Gary Neville
While Amorim’s public disparaging of his team may not have bolstered already flagging confidence among his squad, Eriksen did attest to the strength of his honesty in all aspects of his coaching.
‘He came in with his ideas. He tried to change things as you still see, tried to get it his way,’ Eriksen recollected. ‘Certain players for certain positions, for a certain style of play, that’s how he sees success.
‘He has to change a lot because the players were not used to that system. Also, historically, United always liked a different system.
‘And he’s been very honest and honest with me from the beginning. Very, very, very honest, I would say.’
Amorim’s dogged commitment to his idea of how Man United should play has remained steadfast for much of his time in the dugout, but the manager did try a new formation against Newcastle on Boxing Day with promising results.
The United boss’s decision to change his preferred 3-4-3 formation came just a couple of months after he claimed ‘not even the Pope’ could make him alter his methods.
But against Eddie Howe’s side, Amorim deployed a back-four, which ensured his side secured the 1-0 win.
‘I think in the first half we showed it (the back four) was the only way to create more danger, was with a back four, with a lot of guys inside, even to keep the ball,’ Amorim said after the final whistle. ‘I remember from the game last year, we lost 1 vs 1 outside so we just tried to imagine the game of the players to feel comfortable.
‘You put Dorgu in a position that is more in front where the responsibility is not the same, he has more freedom to lose the ball and I think it helped Patrick play better. Ugarte also had a very good day today.’
