Ruben Amorim remains firm on major decision he made over former Man Utd man, he points out 'most important thing'

Ruben Amorim has opened up on an important call he made during the early part of his Manchester United reign after his arrival from Sporting CP last November.

The 40-year-old Portuguese manager became the sixth permanent manager at Manchester United since Sir Alex Ferguson retired from football in 2013.

Ruben Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in the Old Trafford hot seat after the Dutchman was sacked as United manager last October.

Erik ten Hag oversaw a disastrous start to the 2024-25 Premier League campaign before Ruud van Nistelrooy took over as United interim manager.

Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was United assistant manager under Ten Hag, steered the ship for the Red Devils during his four-match run before he left Old Trafford.

United triggered the £9.25m release clause in Amorim’s Sporting CP contract in 2024 and the Red Devils manager inked a contract with the club until June 2027.

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Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images

Amorim breaks silence on Man Utd call

Ruud van Nistelrooy will make his return to Old Trafford on Friday evening when Leicester City face Manchester United in the FA Cup fourth round.

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The 48-year-old United legend took up his role as Leicester City manager after Ruben Amorim did not retain Van Nistelrooy for his coaching staff.

Van Nistelrooy claimed wins over Leicester both in the Carabao Cup and in the Premier League during his interim United managerial spell.

The Foxes boss has faced a tough period at the King Power and Van Nistelrooy is attempting to safely lead 18th-place Leicester away from relegation this season.

Speaking ahead of the FA Cup tie, Amorim insisted that he preferred to “work with the team” he brought to Old Trafford after he chose not to retain Van Nistelrooy.

When asked if it would have been beneficial to keep Van Nistelrooy at Old Trafford, he said: “No. The most important thing to have as a coach is a staff that understands the way you want to play, the standards that you have.

“When I say standards, I’m not saying Ruud doesn’t have this. He was a legend in this club. He knows what it takes to win, but I prefer to work with the team that brought me here.

“It’s clear that that is important for me to understand my ideas, to explain the same thing to the players.

“So, it was that decision. And I’m really comfortable and confident that I know how to win, no matter the club.

“Of course, we are losing, in these moments you need experienced guys. But I’m not lost, or feeling a lack of something in the staff. We just need to improve as a team.”

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Amorim talks about Man Utd reign so far

Amorim made a name for himself in his native homeland with Sporting CP, but the United manager recognises his side “need to survive in this moment” in football.

“Yeah, it’s really hard, just the way we are sometimes losing,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.

“I understand that we had a lot of games without training, but even then, in that context, I feel that we should do better.

“And when you are a coach, you want to win games and then when you are a coach that feels all the time that feeling of winning and to cope with everything when you have these problems.

“Of course, you have difficult moments, it is hard to sleep and whatever. One good thing that I learned in this moment, is even in the good moments or the bad moments, my idea is so clear that I make the same decisions without any other concerns.

“I just want to help the team to win, and I know that we can change things in the other side. I know that we need to survive in this moment because in football, when you don’t win, you have problems.”

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