Fernandes: 'Strict and direct' Amorim demands intensity

Manchester United begin what they hope will be a journey back towards their former glory as new head coach Ruben Amorim takes charge for the first time away at Ipswich on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.

As the Premier League returns after the final international interlude of the year, Man Utd’s trip to Portman Road offers perhaps the most intriguing storyline of a packed weekend, and captain Bruno Fernandes is under no illusion that the size of the task – under the glare of global media – is as big as it’s ever been.

“Obviously Sporting is a big club in Portugal but it doesn’t have the same attention as Man Utd worldwide, so I think the manager is aware of that,” the midfielder says, speaking exclusively to Sky Sports from Carrington.

“Expectations are really high at this club every time and patience is something that doesn’t work in football,” he adds.

Amorim is the sixth candidate to fill the top job at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson vacated the hotseat 11 years ago, but the first to do so under the title of head coach.

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Most of his newly-adopted squad have been away on international duty since his grand unveiling, which has only allowed for two training sessions with a full complement of players, but that’s been time enough to get acquainted with his “strict and direct” style, says Fernandes.

“It’s still the beginning but obviously you can see already what he’s about, how much intensity he wants to put in every training session. But then him and his staff are really strict, but at the same time open.

“They came to one of the biggest clubs in the world, they know the expectation is going to be high, some people will doubt, others will think that he will do everything straight away and be brilliant, so he knows what people are expecting.”

With only four wins from their first 11 games, Man Utd are currently languishing in 13th place in the Premier League – albeit such a tightly-packed table means they are only four points shy of the top four.

Clearly, the need to hit the ground running is top priority. “The manager pointed out some things he thinks need to be changed by us and we have to follow that,” Fernandes says.

“Obviously not everyone starts, not everyone plays, but everyone’s going to be involved, and he wants everyone to feel the same attention and the same desire to win.”

Speaking in his first Manchester United press conference, Amorim pressed home a familiar message: “We need to win games, to win time, to win titles,” he said.

Such sentiment is common when a new coach with a burgeoning reputation arrives in the Premier League – many will recall Erik ten Hag’s testimony to similar effect back in the summer of 2022.

But Amorim, in an admittedly short coaching career, has yet to falter and appears to have already won the early support of his players. “It’s really direct, what he wants, what he demands, and we just have to follow the rules,” Fernandes continues. “I think communication was part of his success and I think he’s really good at that.

“We can’t focus too far because I think that’s been our problem lately, working too much ahead of us.

“My role is to push everyone to get on board with the coaching staff, with new ideas, to make everyone understand that we’re going to go in a different way now and we have to be the ones most excited for that.”

Amorim’s steadfast belief extends to his approach, with the former Sporting boss supposedly ready to implement his 3-4-3 system on Sunday, despite limited preparation time. Where Fernandes fits into that equation will naturally be a hot topic.

“It’s his ideas, we just have to get into them and do the best we can,” the captain says. Translating such an ethos into a clear and defined identity – something Man Utd lacked under Ten Hag – while getting positive results will surely be Amorim’s greatest managerial task yet.