Ruben Amorim says the fast-changing nature of this season’s Premier League is something that should be in the mind of his Manchester United players, ahead of Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace.
The Reds are preparing for the 12:00 GMT kick-off at Selhurst Park after a home defeat to Everton on Monday night, which brought an end to our five-game unbeaten run in the competition.
Amorim admitted to journalists that the disappointment of that result has been tough to overcome at Carrington this week, but went on to explain that the hard work continues in the understanding that our fortunes can quickly turn good again, particularly in a top-flight term that has been notably well-contested.
United are currently 10th in the table, but just five points back from second-placed Chelsea and within a win of fourth-placed Aston Villa, entering this weekend's 13th round of fixtures.
Scroll down to see Ruben's answer, in response to the third question of Friday's pre-match press conference, which you can read in full below...
Ruben, on Monday you spoke about your team being still quite a long way from where you want it to be. Last year, and during the summer, we took you at face value when you were saying the things about your team but, this week, you've had a whole week off and you're playing opponents who were away from home in Europe on Thursday night. Isn't this exactly the kind of game that Manchester United should be able to step into?
“In our club it's the same thing because last year we had to win every game all the time and we took a lot of things, a lot of criticism because we were not winning. So, in our club, there is no excuses. About Europe, I already talked about Europe, and I said the same thing last year when we were in Europe and I say the same thing this year, the advantage and the disadvantage of not being in Europe. So, there is no excuses. Last year or this year, we have always to win games.”
Are you disappointed with where your team is now, then?
“I think if I look at the games, we should have more points. Because we had control of some games, we had the advantage in some games, and we lost that control. So, if I look at our games, we should have more points, and that is really disappointing and really frustrating, especially the last game [against Everton].”
On Monday, you could see the disappointment on everyone's faces. How do you stop them getting too low and going into a tailspin?
“To start again [this week] was really tough. The week, as it should be, was hard to [deal with] this result, this defeat. But the process needs to continue, and we need to go for the next game, and we need to understand that, especially in our league this year, everything can change really fast. So, let's go again and focus on the next one.”
Will Matheus Cunha and Harry Maguire be available on Sunday? And what's the update with Sesko? Is it looking like next week?
“No, Sesko is going to take a little bit more time. Harry, the same. I expect to have Matheus in the next one, not this one.”
Sorry, just on Sesko, does that mean he’s had a setback?
“No, it's [going to] take a little bit longer. We are taking care of the injury.”
Ruben, you mentioned after the game on Monday feeling similar to last year, being afraid of having similar feelings to last year. How much did that increase after the game? And do you think the players share that nervousness that they could repeat last year?
“Again, I think we, if you look at the game, I think we can play better. We could be better in the game. And with everything that happened in that game, we should have won that game. So, we have to feel that urgency of winning games. We know what happens around the club if we don't win games. So, if we know that, let's do everything in the right way. But again, we lost that one. We cannot change that. Let's focus on the next one.”
The away issues that United have faced, one away win in the last 11, what can you do to solve that? What are you doing to solve that?
“The same things that we need to do to show to the players why we lost control at Nottingham [Forest], why we lost control against Tottenham. And if you look at that [those] games, they were there to win. And then sometimes a small detail can change everything. Then I felt during this year that when we play at home, the intensity was higher. And I felt in this game [against Everton] at home, the intensity was not at the same level. So, I think it's something that we need to work on. So, it's hard to point to one thing why we are not winning away. There's a lot of issues. We are improving. Like I said, we have [had] advantage in the away games. We need to know how to finish the games in order to win.”
Ruben, obviously Palace are a different club, different pressures and scrutiny to United, but obviously Oliver Glasner has had a lot of success, playing a similar system to you and that’s continued this season despite losing his best player in Eberechi Eze. Do you look at what they've done, and do you draw a lot of inspiration and encouragement from Palace? And is one of the big differences their wing-backs being obviously really settled? How big an impact can that play?
“We play in a different way. And you can understand that by data. But now it's hard to explain everything. Like you said, it's a different club and they are doing things better than us. So that is quite simple. But you don't say that all 4-3-3 [teams] play in the same way, right? We play in a different moment, we defend in a different space, we try to attack in a different way. They are just doing the things better than us.”
They can be very quick, the speed with which they attack. I just wonder sometimes when you see, obviously like you play in a different way, but a similar setup in terms of formation, whether you ever take or draw ideas from things, thinking: ‘I quite like that, I don't like that.’
“I think I play against him [Glasner] in Frankfurt with Sporting, so I know the players. I take inspiration from everyone. When I have two weeks for national teams, I watch all the managers and try to take all the inspiration that I can take. I have six years as a manager, professional manager, so I'm always trying to learn to improve my team.”
And finally, there's been obviously a lot of focus on your central midfield and whether that'll be an area that you strengthen next season. Is the wing-back area, though, which is a fundamental part of your team, is that an area over the next 12 months that you want to explore?
“I think we need time to improve the characteristics of the team. I said that in the last year. And to give an example, the last game, we should have an Amad with the right foot to put on the other side to play against 10 men. So, it’s these kinds of characteristics that in time we will try to get to, to be a better team. So, if we are at the perfect setup to play in this way? Not yet. But like any other team, we need time to put the right characteristics in every single position to be prepared for that.”
Just on the wing-backs, Ruben, I think [Daniel] Munoz and [Tyrick] Mitchell [Palace’s wing-backs] are in the top five for the most distance covered in the Premier League, and United's wing-backs are quite a way down. Do you feel as though those players are still having to develop to get those attacking instincts that you want to really become proper?
“They play, maybe they play, I don't know how you read that data. Maybe they play more games, more minutes, so you cannot compare the data. We make a lot of substitutions. Sometimes we change because we know that it's a different position, or you want to change the feet with Dalot and Patrick [Dorgu], and we change a lot. Sometimes we start with Amad in front, but most of the times, if we need to win the game, I put Amad on the right. Amad changes position all the time. So that can change all the data, and you see different things. But again, they are doing the things really well. They play more in transition than us. The opponents see it in a different way. So, all these things we have to look [at] when we compare teams. But of course, in every position we can do so much better.”
Part two of Ruben's press conference will be available to see in the United App and on ManUtd.com from 22:30 GMT on Saturday.