Ruben Amorim claims Manchester United were 'not prepared' to play European football

Ruben Amorim claims Manchester United were 'not prepared' to play European football

Man United reached the Europa League final last season but plummeted to 15th in the Premier League.

Amorim expresses his dismay at Fulham

Ruben Amorim has claimed Manchester United were "not prepared" to play in the Europa League last season.

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United reached the Europa League final and were the only unbeaten team across the three UEFA competitions until their limp defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the final.

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As United progressed in Europe, their domestic form worsened and they won seven of their 27 Premier League matches after Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag as manager in November. United eventually finished 15th, their worst top-flight finish since they were relegated in 1974.

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The club only qualified for the Europa League through winning the 2024 FA Cup final against Manchester City, having ended the league campaign in eighth.

United aborted plans to sack Ten Hag in the summer following the cup triumph and invested more than £200million on five new signings only to dismiss the Dutchman nine league games into last season.

United commence their domestic cup schedule against League Two side Grimsby Town in the League Cup second round on Wednesday. With no European football this season, United have a lighter workload and Amorim is set to make wholesale changes at Blundell Park.

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"We have three games this week and we have quality players and we need to do rotation to try to win every game," Amorim stressed. "It is a normal thing that happens in other clubs [to have no European football].

"We were not prepared to play in Europe. That is my feeling, to have strong games in Europe and play in the Premier League. We need time to develop as a team. They just need to fight for the places. Then everything can change.

"Sometimes one is playing, at other moments, another is going to play. We have the cups, so there will be a lot of games for everybody.

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"We need time to prepare every game. The games are really competitive. We need time to build a base and then in the future, to move forward. We will reach a moment where we need to have Europe for everybody to play games."

Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte could all come into the side in midweek. Benjamin Sesko is in contention to make his full debut.

Noussair Mazraoui could return against Burnley in United's final fixture of the month on Saturday. The full back has been sidelined with an unspecified injury for more than a month and only played once in pre-season.

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"Maybe he is going to return next week, we will see," Amorim added. "But he is near. We are just finishing some drills with him to be sure he is not going to have another problem."

When asked if Rasmus Hojlund, omitted from the matchday squads against Arsenal and Fulham, could travel to Grimsby, Amorim replied: "All the players are available, then we make the choice to try to get the best starting XI to win every game."

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