Manchester United could only manage a draw against Ipswich Town as Ruben Amorim took charge of his first Premier League match and was reminded of the size of the task he has undertaken
Manchester United could only manage a draw against Ipswich Town as Ruben Amorim took charge of his first Premier League match and was reminded of the size of the task he has undertaken Manchester United could only manage a draw against Ipswich Town as Ruben Amorim took charge of his first Premier League match and was reminded of the size of the task he has undertaken
Roy Keane made it clear that Ruben Amorim has ‘big problems’ at Manchester United after his debut draw at Ipswich.
The Portuguese boss took charge of the Red Devils for the first time on Sunday and saw his team held by Kieran McKenna’s men. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring within 90 seconds of the game starting but Omari Hutchinson‘s deflected strike ensured the Tractor Boys earned a point.
Amorim employed a new formation for the Red Devils as the lined up in a 3-4-3 but despite their rapid start to the game at Portman Road, United were unable to trouble Ipswich goalkeeper Arijanet Muric often. The 39-year-old’s team produced an expected goals value of just 0.9.
Keane believes the difficulty United have in generating opportunities will provide a massive task for Amorim moving forwards. The former United captain simply believes the team lack quality.
Ultimately, that leaves Amorim with a giant challenge in Keane’s eyes. “He’s got big problems,” Keane said on Sky Sports.
“The lack of threat in the second half, and Ipswich looked like they’d go on and win. They’ve not won at home all season. Same problems for Man United, but he’s only had a week with them.
“You have to give the man a chance but the threat going forward, it’s a huge problem for Man United. It’s not good enough.
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“We saw the shape of the team but it is the same players and the same problems. We talk about leopards and spots: lack of goals and lack of quality in the second half. Ipswich looked the better team.
“It’s his first game, a lot to take in and it has been a mental week for him, but ultimately he will be disappointed. Man United are, at this moment in time, an average Premier League team. It’s a huge job for the manager. Hopefully, he can get it sorted.”
It appears Amorim is under no illusions over the scale of the task ahead of him. The ex-Sporting CP coach believes United will suffer.
“We are going to suffer for a long period,” he said. “It’s going to take a long time.
“We will try to get results but we know we will have to be patient. The structure will take time. We have had just two training sessions and they did OK. We have a lot of games and the guys who do not play will train.
“We must improve the way we play. The players are trying, they are really trying. I know it’s frustrating for the fans but we will try.
“It’s so clear for everybody that Onana saved us two times at least. He understands very clearly and he did a great job.”
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