(Reuters) – Ruben Amorim is quickly learning about his team at Manchester United and is close to finding the right formula to get the most out of his squad, the manager said on Friday ahead of their Premier League game against Nottingham Forest.
United, 13th in the standings, thrashed Everton 4-0 in Amorim’s first Premier League home game last week, but a much-changed team suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Wednesday.
Asked if the wholesale changes had helped him figure out his best starting lineup, Amorim told reporters: “You have an idea, but we have the problem of players returning without training; then we need to manage the load.
“You have to understand what kind of players you have. For example Bruno Fernandes, he was a little bit tired in the end against Arsenal but you know that he is going to recover very well.
“If you think about Manuel Ugarte, I’ve known him for so long and I know he needs a little bit more time. We are in that process of knowing the players and we are managing that. We are getting closer to an idea, yes.”
United host seventh-placed Forest on Saturday, days after their defeat to Arsenal, and with games coming thick and fast throughout December, Amorim said he did not have enough time to impress his style of play on his players.
“We don’t have time to train our structure. It is hard to manage everything. We are improving in some certain aspects,” he added.
The Portuguese manager stressed the need for United to improve their work rate when out of possession, adding: “That is a key point for us.
“We also have to understand our supporters, in just two weeks and four matches, they just want to see effort. Then they want to see us win games. After a while with effort and winning games, they will want to see a dominant team.
“These are the phases that we have to follow. This one is the easy one, effort. Full sprint back, full sprint forward. Our focus is a lot on that.”
Amorim said defender Lisandro Martinez and midfielder Kobbie Mainoo would be available, adding: “Jonny (Evans) is still not training.
“Victor (Lindelof) returned to training but not available. Maybe the next game. Martinez and Kobbie are back. We are prepared for the game.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
