Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes has expressed optimism about the potential impact of new head coach Ruben Amorim at the club. The Portuguese midfielder praised Amorim’s loyalty to his players and his defensive approach, noting the success Amorim achieved with Sporting Lisbon.
Despite not being able to start coaching immediately due to work visa procedures, Amorim’s arrival at Carrington for preliminary meetings has sparked hope following Erik ten Hag’s departure. “Sometimes a person can change the energy of a space, if it’s the right moment,” Fernandes told MUTV.
“We hope that he can come and this is the right moment for him to come and bring his energy, bring his qualities and his knowledge of football, because he’s done something really, really special at Sporting.”
Fernandes highlighted Amorim’s accomplishments, including ending Sporting’s nearly two-decade league title drought and securing two championships in four years with a young team. “So hopefully he can do the same here for us and [hopefully] it’s going to be a successful time for all of us.
“He’s a really smart manager that has done really good things for Sporting tactically – it’s really good, what I’ve seen from the games for Sporting.”
“But obviously you can’t bring or transform what he has done at Sporting into here, because you have different players, you have different ways of play and everything.
“I’m pretty sure that the idea of football he has, independent of the way he wants to play, is going to be a good one and it’s going to bring us success. That’s what I hope and I’m pretty sure that (is what) he hopes too.”
After Ten Hag faced criticism for lacking a clear pattern of play and not fully utilising his squad, former Sporting player Fernandes believes Amorim could unite the team: “I’ve seen many, many moments where players were struggling and he kept his faith in them. He always goes to the press conference and always defends their players.
“He had a really youthful team so they needed that and hopefully when he comes here he can do the same again with the youth. Us players with the most experience, we have to help him to get that and get the best out of every player at this club.”