Amorim addresses Academy talent

It follows a selection of the young Reds joining Amorim's first-team training sessions over the November international break.

During the briefing with journalists, held at Carrington on Friday afternoon, the boss also addressed our current unbeaten run, the atmosphere in the dressing room and the potential upcoming absence of a trio of United stars during the Africa Cup of Nations.

Keep scrolling to read, and watch, everything Ruben had to say in the second part of his pre-Everton press conference...

Ruben, you’re five games unbeaten. You famously said there’s a storm coming, do you feel that’s over now, that worry that you could be engulfed again and back to, not square one, but have a massive setback? Are those dark days over?
“I have always that feeling. I think it is also my job, especially in our club, to always have that feeling. That gives me the sense of urgency in every training that I have. Playing every game in the Premier League, you sense that everything can change so fast because all the teams can win any game and, if you see the bottom, they have a lot of points. Everything can change in one moment, so I don’t like to say the storm is over, but we are prepared. We are more prepared for any storm in this moment, so let’s take this sense of urgency into every game.”

The reverse of that then, could you become six, seven, eight, nine, 10 games unbeaten? Is that possible?
“We need to think to be six games unbeaten. But then unbeaten is not enough. I came from these last two games [against Forest and Spurs], especially the last one, very frustrated. So, for us, it’s not enough. In this club, it doesn’t matter the moment, it’s not enough to unbeaten. Unbeaten is not everything. We didn’t win the last two games, so I think like that. I don’t think that we are unbeaten five games ago, in my mind, we don’t win a game and we are going to the third game, the last two we didn’t win. That is my feeling.”

Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee haven’t played too much this season. If they ask to leave the club in January, whether it be on loan, would those requests be entertained or have you made the decision for them to stay?
“The club comes first, first place. So, we have to think about the club and the team. Then, everything can happen and, I was a football player, I understand everything. I want to help my players in every situation, so I don’t know what is going to happen, I want my players happy. I understand the frustration of some players, seeing that the World Cup is there, and I know what it means for the World Cup. But Manchester United comes first, so if I can help the club and the players, I will be happy. If not, I have to think about the team.”

On a slightly similar note, given the progress you’ve made with the squad rebuild, would you say that midfield is the area that has to be reinforced and strengthened next year?
“It’s hard to say that. But I think we can add in the future, I don’t know when, different characteristics. The same thing [as] our thinking in front [forward areas], sometimes it’s not the quality of the players, it’s the characteristics of the players. We can improve in some areas in our club but I’m happy with the guys we have in the moment, and I think they have so much more to give. It’s my job to think about them, not the other guys that are not here."

Just on one of those players, Manuel Ugarte has struggled when he has started this season, you know him very well. Are you surprised by his performance level?
“I understand. Also, you are here longer than me and you can sense that a lot of very good players come here and sometimes they struggle. He is struggling in the moment, but it is our job to try and help our players. Again, everything can change. You saw it, five weeks ago, the environment was completely different. I know that Ugarte is struggling in the moment and my job is to help him to feel, as a player, like I felt when he was a Sporting player. But it’s a different role and he needs to adapt, and he needs to improve, especially in training.”

Ruben, you talked about it’s not just the quality of the players, it’s the characteristics. You’ve made a lot of changes to the squad, a year on, where is it in terms of where you want it to be in atmosphere, culture, environment, the squad? How close is it getting to that close-knit group?
“I think we are better, I think we are in a better moment, I think we train with a better intensity. I think we are doing things in a better way, but we are not perfect and, when I watch trainings, when I watch games, we are far from perfection. And we can be perfect in the position, in the intensity, in all these things. We need to work on that in training. So, to be really honest with you, we are better but far from perfection and we need to do that. Especially to win in this league, we need to be perfect in everything to have a little bit of luck to try to get into the top of the table. So, we are far from perfect.”

Managers whose teams are often competing for titles or winning titles often talk about how the dressing room gets to a point where it almost polices itself. There’s just that standard and the demands, day in day out, that are so high that they just feed off each other. Is it going to take another year to get to that point, another two years?
“I don’t know, we are not there yet. But we are getting there. That is something that is just like that [clicks fingers] in change, but it takes a lot of work to reach that point and we are not there yet. But we are fighting, because sometimes we are used to different things, and then when you want to change it’s hard because you have to suffer and sometimes it’s hard when you are not used to suffering in every drill, every training. It’s hard, but they [the players] are making the effort and that is the only thing I can ask, but we are not there yet to leave the players to train and I know that everything is [going to be okay]. No, I have to be there every drill, every moment. I have to be there, so we are far from that team that I can talk with Jason Wilcox during training, and the speed is completely the same. We are not there.”

Wins help though, don’t they?
“Yeah, of course. The environment is completely different, but the big teams are the same when you win and when you lose. You can be annoyed, but the speed, everything, the sound, is completely different. Even the aggression between them in training, it has to be different, so I’m always on top of that. They are trying and that is the only thing, again, that I can ask for.”

Just looking to that period when AFCON is on, how big of a challenge will that be for you because, obviously, Amad, Bryan [Mbeumo] and Nous [Mazraoui] are very important members of your squad?
“I think it is going to be hard but then, that is the good thing of the experience. We lived so many limitations last year. We changed in January and we didn’t bring the players, then we had the injury of Amad for four months, all these things. We are prepared for that. It will be hard for us, but we have different baggage to deal with that. Guys like Jack Fletcher, Shea [Lacey], they can step up. We can send, at the same time, a message to everyone here in the Academy that this is the future. But we are going to struggle, and we have to be prepared for that.”

Chido Obi, I know he’s only 17 and perhaps had his chance maybe a little earlier than he was expecting, is he someone that you look at?
“Yeah, of course. He played last year, I think it was too soon. We didn’t have a team that we could put a young kid at 16 [into so much so that] he would not struggle, or he will [only] struggle a little bit. It was necessary to do that. The perfect conditions are we have the opportunity, and we seek that opportunity for the kid, so he is one of the guys, but I think he started too soon and it is sometimes difficult to deal with that with the kids. Because they think: ‘I am already here.’ No, you are here for necessity, and we need to be careful also with that, with the kids.”

You mentioned about the preparing of the Academy, do you feel you can trust a lot more of the youngsters now? You maybe haven’t had the chance yet, but you get so many of them into training, are they closer to what you need for the first team?
“First of all, I’m not preparing the Academy, they are preparing the Academy. We are paying more attention to them, we are talking with them. That is so important to change information about the players, what they need, how they behave. To call a kid for the first team, they need to behave really well. This connection is really important. We are trying to do that. We are putting everything in place, nutrition is for the Academy, it starts now. In our club, that is something that should be basic. So, all these things we are doing, and they are doing their job. I have more time with them in training so I’m more confident with them. When we put these kids to play in the Premier League they will struggle, but they will struggle less, I think. Everyone in the Academy is doing very well in the moment.”

How have you seen Shea Lacey’s development? He had a training session with England’s first team, trained with the 21s this break and they’re really happy with him…
“I’m really happy with him, I think he struggled a little bit with injuries. He did a very good job balancing his body. You can sense he can manage more load during training. He has a lot of talent, but when they come here, they can sense the speed is completely different, so they need to spend more time with us to be prepared because our trainings are hard, but Premier League games with pressure are harder. So, they need to be ready.”

With Benjamin Sesko’s injury, you obviously have other players who can play up there, but you also did let Rasmus Hojlund leave. When you look back at that, was that a bit of a risk or something you were always going to be comfortable with being the right decision, even if someone did get ruled out?
“Our thinking is that we need two strikers, or sometimes I prefer players that make two positions because sometimes in these clubs, it’s hard to make everyone happy. Imagine that Rasmus is here, and you say: ‘If Ben has an injury, you have more time to play.’ It’s impossible to manage a dressing room like that, that’s why we need to improve the kids from the Academy. If we have an injury, that is the opportunity for them, and then to have players that can play in different positions for us to manage the team in a better way.”