While Manchester United has little time to prepare for Ruben Amorim’s first Premier League game at Old Trafford, the new boss insisted there will be “no excuses” if his team does not beat Everton on Sunday.
While its Merseyside opponents will have had a full week to prepare since its scoreless draw with Brentford last Saturday, United was in action on Thursday in a breathless 3-2 Europa League win over Bodo/Glimt, its second game in five days.
“It is what it is,” Amorim said of the challenging schedule. “We will rotate players, and we will be ready. (Against Bodo/Glimt) we have to use four subs to manage the fitness, not the game. We manage the fitness.
“We have to do it. We already know that it will be like that, so no excuse. We should be ready for Sunday, and we have to win.”
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United’s 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town on Amorim’s debut with the club last week saw it climb one spot to 12th in the Premier League table and three points off the top six.
Sean Dyche’s Toffees are two points above the drop zone in 15th.
Asked what he expects against Everton, Amorim said: “Win. I am hoping to win. It is going to be a different match with a lot of fighting, long balls, second balls.
“They have a quality coach who understands the league and the moment of the opponents. We need to have the ball because we have a short time to recover, and we need to rotate the team. I hope for a win and see different things in my team, improve like we did from Ipswich to now, with Everton, without training. I expect to see different things and better things.”
Amorim was known for maintaining high fitness standards in his previous job at Sporting and said he would like to see United fitter. His mid-season arrival, he acknowledged, however, makes for a more difficult challenge.
“We do it like walking - and jogging - it’s a way to do it,” the manager said. “Showing some video. Videos more than 12 minutes? Forget, because of concentration,” Amorim said.
“They are very good players, they need to believe and we will show individual stuff. Team stuff. And if you cannot run, you can jog.”
One player who has impressed Amorim so far is fellow Portuguese Diogo Dalot.
“He is a great player,” Amorim said singling out the defender. “He can play both sides, which is perfect. He lives the game.”
Leny Yoro, who has yet to make his competitive debut for United after fracturing his foot in the pre-season, has resumed training and there is hope he can play before the end of the year.
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