Gary Neville has said Ruben Amorim needs at least two or three transfer windows to build a Manchester United squad capable of implementing his system.
The Red Devils are currently 15th in the Premier League after Sunday’s defeat to Tottenham, which left Amorim with just four wins in his first 14 games in charge.
Amorim had initially wanted to delay his arrival at Old Trafford until next summer, reluctant to leave Sporting mid-season following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
However, he was given an ultimatum at the time: take it or leave it at all. Poor results under Amorim have made matters worse, but the Portuguese is adamant about sticking with his three-man defence, despite limited training time making it difficult to implement.
Amorim has stated that United must sell players before they can buy in the summer, potentially limiting the club’s ability to shape the team to suit his vision.
Neville is concerned that Amorim will need more time to build the ideal squad.
“How quickly can Amorim bring in not only quality players, but also players who fit the system?” asked Neville.
“The 3-4-3 system is unique. You need two midfielders who are good enough to play together and cover a lot of ground. You also need three centre-backs, two of whom have to be able to play wide as wing-backs when the wing-backs move forward.”
Neville stressed that the system requires specialist players in almost every position. “It’s not an easy or flexible system like other systems. It takes time to find the right players,” he added.
Neville predicted that it would take Amorim at least two to three transfer windows to adapt United’s squad to the 3-4-3 system.
“How quickly can Amorim and United’s recruitment team turn this squad into a team that fits the 3-4-3 formation? It will take at least two to three transfer windows, given the investment that has been made and the constraints of the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) that the club must comply with,” he explained.
With limited finances and time, Amorim faces a huge challenge to get United back to the top of the Premier League.
It won’t be an instant process, but Neville is confident that with patience and careful planning, Amorim can bring about the change Man United need.
Amorim admitted to being frustrated with the injury situation that has hit his squad. Man United’s current condition is indeed bad. Many players are sidelined due to injury, and generally quite long.
“I always ask for one week, and unfortunately in that one week we keep losing players. This is the moment where everything goes wrong,” said Amorim.
He explained that at the beginning of the week, his team still had enough squad to train. However, day by day, core players began to be absent due to injury.
“I don’t want to use this as an excuse. Every coach in the world must face problems like this. We have to face this challenge,” he added.
This injury crisis forced Amorim to put eight young players on the bench, all of whom had never made their Premier League debut. The only player he put on the field was Chido Obi-Martin, a 17-year-old young star, who came on in the final minutes to try to equalize.
“Of course, for me and our fans. But we need to stop focusing on the big picture. Now is not the time for that,” continued Amorim.
“We just have to focus on the next game, do everything to win some games and finish the season well,” he said.
He also revealed how tough his job as Manchester United coach is at the moment.
“What you see and talk about every week, I see it too. I have a lot of problems, my job here is very, very difficult. But I stick to my beliefs. You grow and learn a lot from situations like this,” Amorim concluded.
