Manchester United believe in Ruben Amorim, says captain Bruno Fernandes

LONDON – It has been nearly two months since Ruben Amorim’s first match in charge of Manchester United, a 1-1 English Premier League draw with Ipswich Town on Nov 24.

The performances – and results – thereafter have been a roller-coaster ride, with the team still languishing in the bottom half of the table, further emphasising the magnitude of the task for the Red Devils’ new manager.

The past week or so has been positive, however.

United claimed a 2-2 draw with league leaders Liverpool at Anfield, before knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup with a hard-fought victory on penalties – having played with 10 men from the 61st minute – at the Emirates on Jan 12.

This was in contrast to a difficult December, when they lost six games in all competitions. They also conceded 18 goals in the final month of 2024, their most in a single month since March 1964 (also 18).

Captain Bruno Fernandes believes that things are looking up and there is no reason not to believe in Amorim’s plan.

Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of United’s home league clash with Southampton on Jan 16, the Portugal midfielder said: “It’s really easy when you don’t get results, when you don’t get the performance, you start losing belief in everything you’re doing.

“But one of the good things we had as a team – we kept the belief in what we are doing, in what we’ve been training and where we want to go as a team, where the staff wants us to go as a team.

“Obviously, the manager has his own idea. What we do really understand as players at the moment is that he really believes in this. So there is no way that it makes you not believe it.

“Everyone is really aware of what he wants and he demands from us position-wise, tactical-wise... I think we are now getting into the level that he wants effort-wise, with running, passion and desire to win games.”

United’s recent improvements have indeed been in their intensity on the pitch, fighting for every ball whether in attack or defence, and their defensive shape as well.

Amorim, though, will still want to see more goals from his attackers. His side have scored just 23 goals in 20 league fixtures, and have a goal difference of -5.

Sky Sports also noted that United have fired a higher proportion of their shots from outside the box than any other side (37 per cent), with this lack of a clinical edge inside the area a weak point.

“The manager has been telling us a lot that we have to score more goals. And that’s true, because we are a team that has the capability of scoring goals,” Fernandes added.

“I know we have a lot of young players in front, but we have quality, and we have to score goals because Rasmus (Hojlund) is capable of scoring goals. Josh (Joshua Zirkzee) is capable, Amad (Diallo) is capable. So we have a lot of players that have the capability of scoring goals.”

An ideal place to start would be against bottom-side Southampton, backed by the Old Trafford crowd.

United are unbeaten in their last 15 Premier League games against the Saints – winning seven and drawing eight – since a 1-0 home loss in January 2016.

The Red Devils have already won against Southampton earlier in the season, a 3-0 league victory at St Mary’s under Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag.

And to further highlight the joy they have had against the Saints, United’s joint-record league win, 9-0, was achieved in 2021 against them – although both teams are much-changed now.

“I think we have a lot to improve because we have so much quality in our team to score more goals than we’ve been showing. This is not really the level we have here,” Fernandes reiterated.

Diogo Dalot is ruled out for the match through suspension, following his sending-off against Arsenal. Tyrell Malacia could fill in at left wing-back, but Amorim could also surprise with other options.