Ruben Amorim has praised Erik ten Hag for his work before moving to Old Trafford but believes Manchester United’s players were ‘losing the ball too fast’ under the Dutchman.
Amorim was brought in as Ten Hag’s replacement earlier this month and will take charge of United for the first time on Sunday for their Premier League game away to Ipswich.
The 39-year-old, who guided Sporting to two league titles, will be tasked with implementing a clear playing style at United, a criticism which was aimed at Ten Hag during the final year of his reign at Old Trafford.
But Amorim has been keen to point out Ten Hag’s success with Ajax before joining United.
When asked if his confidence comes from his success at Sporting, Amorim said in an interview with Gary Neville for Sky Sports: ‘Not just that because I follow the sport, not just the games but what happened with the other coaches, so I know that you can win.
‘You have Erik, Erik was amazing at Ajax, for me he built the best two teams outside the five strongest leagues.
‘So, it’s not just that but I have one idea so I know what to do. When I know what to do, it can go wrong I know, but I’m comfortable because I know step one, step two, step three, and with that I have confidence that we are going to achieve something.
‘One idea is that when the ball is in one place, when we are with the ball or without the ball, every player has the same idea.
‘Imagine one guy receives the ball between the lines and he turns, every guy in the team knows what to do and everybody thinks the same. It’s quite simple like that.
‘You can call it hard work, being professional, all that stuff, but in my mind one idea, one identity, everybody has the same idea when the ball is here or there. So that’s quite simple in this one idea is to understand the game in the same way, seeing things in one way.’
Since taking over from Ten Hag, Amorim also believes United’s major issue under Ten Hag has been ball retention.
‘The problem is with the ball. I think we lose the ball too fast,’ Amorim said.
‘We win the ball, we lose the ball, and you cannot press high all the time, so you have to keep the ball and understand that you have to be in position to start one play.
‘This is something that, with the ball, we can press better. So the focus this week also was in that part.
‘If we don’t lose the ball, you can push higher, if you are higher, you can press better. It’s like a snowball, everything is connected.’
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