Man United’s Amorim launches passionate defence of his system as Rooney, Keane question progress under Portuguese coach

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim made a passionate defence of his tactics as the Red Devils suffered a shambolic 3-0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday. A Phil Foden goal and Erling Haaland brace condemned Manchester United to their second defeat of the new English Premier League season in just four games. Under Amorim, United has accumulated just 31 points in 31 EPL games.

Nonetheless, the 40-year-old Amorim put up a brave face in the post-match press conference as he insisted that he will stick to his preferred 3-4-3 formation despite Man City taking full control of the midfield during the derby.

Amorim defends his 3-4-3 formation

“It is not a record you should have at Manchester United,” Amorim said. “You have no idea what happened [privately] during these [past] months but I accept that. I am not going to change. When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man.

“We talk about this every game that we lose. I believe in my way and I am going to play my way until I want to change. I see that we are doing better but the results don’t show that.

I remember last year I played with my former club [Sporting Lisbon] against City [in the Champions League] – we won 4-1. It was not near the same amount of opportunities – the way we controlled that game compared to today. In certain moments we were not better than City – I understand that. It is hard and the record says everything. I understand.”

Rooney, Keane question Man United progress under Amorim

Amorim, however, is facing a lot of criticism from the fans, and the experts are also losing their patience. Former Man United players have often been supportive of the Portuguese manager, but ex-striker Wayne Rooney feels the club is now worse than what they were when Amorim took over last season.

“I want to be as supportive and positive as I can be on the manager and the players,” Rooney told BBC. “But it is very difficult to sit here and say we are seeing progression, and at least we’re seeing things that will get results in the near future.

“We’re seeing none of that, and it is very difficult. There was an image towards the end of the game where I saw the Manchester United fans leaving.

“You could hear the fans singing Amorim’s name, but I think that is so powerful that the United fans were leaving the game. You know the game is over and I think they were very disappointed in what they were seeing. It is hard to see how it continues.

“What are the patterns? What are we seeing what might improve the team moving forward?”

Former Man United captain and legendary Roy Keane said he is not convinced with the way Amorim’s team is performing, but signs of recovery are also missing.

“It’s more hope than belief at this moment in time because we are watching them, we see them week in, week out,” Keane told Sky Sports. “Not convinced, I hope they can prove us wrong.

“My worry is if the players are not truly behind him in the way they are playing in this system because the results haven’t been good enough. A big worry.”