Amorim opens up on his first year as United boss

The Portuguese arrived at United in November 2024, and when Everton come to Old Trafford on Monday (24 November) it will be a year to the day of his first game in charge, in a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich Town.

Taking on such a prominent position at a club the size of United is enough to shape anyone, and Amorim certainly has not been immune from that experience himself.

"I think I changed as a coach," the 40-year-old said, sitting down this week to speak to Premier League Productions. "I see things a little bit different.

"I had an idea how to play, how to build up in certain ways, and I changed that."

As much has been evident in recent months, since the arrival of Senne Lammens, with the new keeper given licence to kick long, when the game demands it.

"Here, and you see this in the Premier League, we are really focused on data," Amorim continued. "So, you need to change the way you do things. You need to pay attention.

"Of course, you want to play in a specific way, but you need to adapt, you need to understand where you [need to] play more possession, the way we win some corners to push the opponents, all these things."

Adapting to the intensity of the English top-flight has been a sizeable task over the past 12 months, not just in terms of tactical decision-making, but also for the off-field demands that come with being in charge of a team with a worldwide following like United's.

"I felt like, last year, I was always overwhelmed with the games," the Reds boss admitted. "I didn't have the time to settle down, to understand that my job is not just the pitch, it's outside the pitch, [it] is to push for everyone.

"I felt like, last year, I was really emotional all the time, because I was struggling with the results.

"I'm always saying that this is going to take time, but I'm the guy that has the bigger responsibility to take care of everything and to control the emotions a little bit better."

Keeping those feelings in check has perhaps not been helped by the unpredictable nature of some of United's games in recent months.

We've logged the joint-most first-half goals so far in the Premier League this season (11) but have also conceded the most second-half goals (14) of any team in the league. Amorim has revealed the factors he's noticed behind that trend.

"I think we lose the intensity," he said. "I think we had some problems in some games, that we lost, I think two times, Casemiro, because of some pain. Harry Maguire, the same thing.

"They are key players, not just in the way they play, the experience they have, [but also] the set-pieces, and people don't take that into consideration.

"I think we lose some [impetus] when we are in advantage, we lose that thing of continuing to press the same way.

"It's a lot of things together. I think we think about 'let's not suffer a goal'. And our mindset, it should be like 'we have one goal, we just need another opportunity to kill the game'.

"So, I think it's mental, but I think it's also physical, so we need to improve in that aspect."

Not long after Amorim's first game against Ipswich came his third match in the dugout, against Monday's opponents, Everton; his first Premier League outing at Old Trafford.

It was one to remember, the Reds running out 4-0 winners with braces from Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee, but with David Moyes having taken charge of the Toffees, Ruben is expecting an altogether different challenge.

"First of all, I think they are a better team than they were," he said of Everton, before noting that United are also a different team from a year ago.

"They [Everton] are really compact. You cannot see the results, you need to see the games, to understand that 3-0 against Tottenham [shakes head]. If you see the game, it's set-pieces

"I think [Jack] Grealish is doing really well. He can push that team, can give weight to that team. [Iliman] Ndiaye is an amazing player.

"They can put [James] Garner as a right-back. But also [Jake] O'Brien, I think, is going to play, because of set-pieces.

"So, all these things, [it] is a more complete team, and David Moyes is doing an amazing job. It's going to be really, really tough to win the game."