As Ruben Amorim contemplated Sunderland’s visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, his message was loud and clear: actions speak louder than words.
Given some of the words that have come his way since last weekend’s abject defeat at Brentford, the hope must be that the Manchester United manager and his players are able to make good on that sentiment.
Gary Neville has branded the performances and results of a team that has lost almost twice as many games as it has won under Amorim “unacceptable”, while Wayne Rooney, United’s record goalscorer, believes the “soul has gone” from the club and suggested he has “no faith” in the manager’s ability to turn things around.
Both players have been critical of Amorim’s tactical approach, with Neville describing the deployment of Mason Mount as a left-wing back in the Portuguese’s signature 3-4-2-1 formation as “unforgivable”.
Ruben Amorim: ‘It is not time to say, it is time to show’
It is hardly the first time the Portuguese, whose position has been the focus of relentless scrutiny, has been forced to confront criticism. Amorim has consistently defended his approach, but his words on the latest brickbats – and whether he had a positive message for supporters – were tinged with an unmistakable weariness about retreading old ground.
“It is not time to say, it is time to show,” said Amorim, who won just nine of 33 matches in the Premier League and has yet to string together two successive wins.
“It’s normal, you cannot run away from the results, and then you have baggage from last season. But last season, for me, doesn’t matter.
“In relation to the system, we already spoke about that. We’ve had six games this season, and we lost three [against Arsenal, Manchester City and Brentford].
Ruben Amorim says Manchester United’s poor results are not down to his system
“We have to look to the games that we lost – if we lost against Arsenal because of the system. When you look at the game against City, was the first thing that you think, ‘It’s the system’? I think you don’t think about the system in that moment. And Brentford, I think the way we conceded goals, the way we created chances, that is nothing to do with the system.
“I am not saying that this team would play better in another system or not, that is not my point. My point is, if I look [at] the games we didn’t win, the most important thing when I watch the game is not that we lost because of the system. That is my opinion; people have different opinions, that’s OK.
“You cannot say [the system] doesn’t work when it works on one weekend, and on the other weekend it doesn’t work. When something doesn’t work, it doesn’t work every day.
“When it works one day and the other day it doesn’t, then the next day it works really well again, it is something about the way we do the same thing. So we need to do the same thing in the same way every day – and we are not doing that.”
Why Sunderland will pose a threat against Manchester United
As Amorim is aware, finding that clarity will not be easy against a Sunderland side beaten just once in the league this season.
“It is a team that plays really well,” Amorim said of fifth-placed Sunderland, who continue to impress under manager Régis Le Bris since earning promotion last season.
“It is a clear system with a lot of rotations on the side of the pitch. They know we are going to be under pressure and we need to be able to play with that.
“They have a clear identity. It is a very good manager and a very good team.”
How the United faithful must wish they could make similar claims.
