Ruben Amorim has provided his thoughts on Manchester United’s plans for a new stadium as the centrepiece of the Old Trafford regeneration project.
Our head coach was addressing media ahead of Thursday night’s UEFA Europa League encounter with Real Sociedad.
It’s the first time we’ve heard from him since plans were unveiled for a 100,000-capacity ground just to the west of the current Old Trafford stadium.
“It’s an amazing stadium, like it should be,”
Amorim said of the plans.
“But it’s in the future, five years from now. We have to focus on the present and I’m really excited to win things in Old Trafford [first], that’s our focus.”
In terms of this season, United’s final chance of silverware is in this competition: the Europa League. Amorim’s Reds played well at Real Sociedad in the first leg, with Joshua Zirkzee’s excellent strike opening the scoring, but were disappointed to eventually draw 1-1 as the hosts converted a late penalty.
As Ruben pointed out, should we progress at Old Trafford on Thursday, the whole nature of this season and next could be altered, with the prospect of a trophy and further reward.
“We have a clear plan to address next season,”
Amorim said, when asked whether United can compete financially with other English clubs going forward.
“Of course, we have the Europa League and we can reach the Champions League. You never know, it’s far from this moment, but that could change the preparation for next season.
“We have a plan, we know what to do, we know what kind of players we need to bring.”
HOW TO WATCH THE GAME
There are a limited number of tickets still available to buy, so act now and secure your seat for an important European night in M16.
Our Match Day Live programme begins at 18:55 GMT, just after the teams have been announced, and the United App is the place to be during the game, for a second-screen experience, as we’ll bring you live radio commentary, plus stats and updates.
The game kicks off at 20:00 GMT and will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK.
If you miss the action, you can catch the highlights across our platforms from midnight on Friday.