Ruben Amorim has vowed to give Manchester United their identity back – and wants all his players to take the Old Trafford stadium and museum tour so they can be inspired by the club’s rich history.
United have been accused of lacking a clear identity and style of play during 11 largely success-starved years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
Amorim – who began work on Monday as the club’s new head coach – says he wants to “create the principles, the identity and the character that we had in the past”.
And the 39-year-old Portuguese believes part of that process should involve ensuring all the players fully grasp the history of the club, what it represents and what they are fighting for.
Amorim was given a stadium and museum tour on Wednesday by long-standing guide Jason Leach, who talked about the club’s foundations as Newton Heath by railway workers, the glorious highs and the tragic lows, not least the 1958 Munich air disaster.
Now he plans to have Leach address his entire squad on the same tour.
“When you come here, it’s so different. You see the trophies, you see the tragedy that we have as a club,” Amorim said.
“So you can understand the history, after the crash, then we were European champions. This kind of strength, I think it is important to put in our team.
“When the players come here, they should make the same tour with the same guy all the time. I think this is very important to do.
“It is one thing that you have to feel that this is Manchester United and it’s normal. If you are a lot of years without winning, you start losing that.
“So you have to be very clear on the message that you want to put on the players. So I think we need to put all the players doing the same thing, to regain that feeling.”
Amorim said he was drawn to United both by the history of the club and an instant connection he felt with the place. “It’s strange because it’s a feeling of belonging on the first day”,” he said.
He accepted he had taken on a “massive challenge” but that he believes the club’s new hierarchy – chief executive Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox as well as co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – share his hunger for success.
“I felt a connection and I felt we are in the same moment,” said Amorim, who will take charge of his first game, away to Ipswich Town, on Sunday week. “We want to do something special in the special club.”
Describing United as the “engine of the Premier League”, Amorim promised fans they would see a team they recognised, could relate to and get behind that had a distinct way of playing and worked hard.
“If I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity,” he said. “If our players take the shirt, they will know that it is the Manchester United team.
“Everybody thinks the same, running back, playing, enjoying. This is what drives me. I can say the popular thing, which is to win. Everybody wants to win and I want to win with my players, with the fans, but with an identity and one idea, that is the thing that I am focused on all the time.
“I want to be part of something. I don’t want to be just in charge. So I want everybody together. It will be more fun and so much easier to reach the goals.
“A lot of people now talk about the 3-4-3 and the 4-3-3 and all that stuff. But when I think as a player or as a team-mate of Manchester United, it is not a system or formation, it’s like the character of the players, the way they see the club.
“So we have to focus on that before the everything of how we play, how we press. The most important thing for me at this moment is to create the principles, the identity and the character that we had in the past.”
Amorim said United have to win “without fear” from day one and that he and the players have to earn themselves time.
“We know that we need time, but we have to win time. To win time is to win games,” he said. “But the most important thing for me is identity. Since day one we will start with our identity. Of course we are going to prepare the games, but we will focus a lot on our game model: how to play, how to press, these small things, small details.
“You cannot go 100 per cent on every detail because it will be confusing for the players. So if I have to say one thing, my main goal, my first goal, is identity.”
Asked what kind of team United fans can expect to see, Amorim said: “It’s hard to say. I want to say beautiful things to you, but I’m really honest. But what I can say is that I think you will see an idea. You could like it or not, I don’t know, but you will see an idea. You will see a positioning. You will see something. Something that we want to reach that kind of level. You will feel that.
“But we have to know that it’s like two trainings before the first match. This is the best league in the world. But if I have to say something to you, you will see an idea. This I can guarantee.
“I don’t want to say that we need time because we are a young team. They are prepared. They are prepared to cope with the demands of playing for Manchester United. They should be because they are. They are here. We know it will take time and we will try to win time with the games. But we have to start since day one without fear, without thinking that they are not used to playing like this. This is not on my mind. They will start on the first day with our idea, no matter what. That’s the goal.”
