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Ruben Amorim can start 12Ruben Amorim can start 'building belief' at Man United

talksport.com, 14 January 2025, 16:29
Ruben Amorim has been told he must bin off the 'deadwood' at Manchester United if he wants to start 'building belief'.

The tide appears to be turning on a mixed start for life at Old Trafford for Amorim, whose side are showing great promise as they battled to a draw at Liverpool and beat Arsenal in the FA Cup in their last two outings.

Martin Keown said the 'spirit' of the Man United side which beat Arsenal in the FA Cup third round on penalties was noticeable.

"Spirit is definitely building. I saw a whole lot more spirit in this Man United team... they stuck together, the [Bruno] Fernandes goal was an outstanding goal," Keown said on White and Jordan.

Simon Jordan added: "We know what [Amorim] wants, he wants the players in a certain set up and how he wants certain things from his players.

"What he's doing is trying to do the very same thing with a different way of attacking it as Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, which is to instil a particular culture into Man United.

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"What he's getting now is people who are beginning to apply themselves which is very basic minimum you can expect from a professional footballer, is that they give their very best in the game.

"We saw it at Liverpool... they compounded that performance by knocking Arsenal out of the cup and it builds for [Amorim].

"He can start building confidence and belief and people are following his instructions.

"Bit by bit he will start weeding out some of the deadwood, whether that's [Marcus] Rashford or other people. There's radiators and drains in life and I don't believe Rashford is a radiator, I think he's a drain.

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"He'll start to get rid of some of these people and he's starting to build a team that has the fundamentals first.

"After that you'll get a style of play and a formula but Amorim is doing what I expected him to do."

Jordan also likened Amorim's work at Man United to that of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, with the side beginning to establish some stability amongst the regular starting line-up.

Whilst no signings have been confirmed, Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon is set to join.

The 17-year-old will solve an issue on the back line for United, who only have left-footed Luke Shaw who has been blighted by injuries in that role.

South American club Cerro Porteno are understood to be receiving £6-7million for Leon.

Rashford looks to be the most likely exit from the Man United squad, having not played for a number of games, nor featuring in the matchday squad.

AC Milan are leading the interest, although other European giants including Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus have been eyeing the 27-year-old.

Amorim has now won five games in charge out of a possible 13, although the performances against Liverpool and Arsenal suggest they are on an upward trajectory.

Man United next face Southampton at home in the Premier League before hosting Brighton at the weekend.

Martin Keown CLASHES with Simon Jordan over Ruben Amorim's 'sinking' Manchester United

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