The United boss spoke to the media ahead of what is fast-becoming his biggest make or break game at Old Trafford and he's had a few of those in his 11 months at the club.
The main thing from this press conference was about his much discussed 3-4-3 system.
The Portuguese was defensive of his formation saying that “You cannot say one thing doesn’t work, when it works one weekend. If one thing doesn’t work, it doesn’t work every day." He believes that the defeats suffered this season aren't to do with that system.
The United manager mentions how inconsistencies have caused his side to have the troubles they've had as "we are not always the same team in small things."
He talks about the effort levels put in by the players in certain moments in matches is something that they have to work on and find that balance so as to do it every game.
Again, he was defensive towards his system when asked about the criticism received from ex-Reds Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney:
"We had six games this season, and we have lost three. And if we lost against Arsenal because of the system? It’s your job to make the opinions."
"When you look at the game against City, the first thing you think when the game starts is the system? I think you don't think about the system in that moment. And Brentford? I don't look (to 3421).”
He feels that with the goals United concede and the chances we create, it has nothing to do with the system. However, he does want to make it clear that his point is not that if these players were used in another system, that they would play better or worse "that is not my point."
Amorim says it's time to "show" the fans why they should be behind him and the team instead of "saying" why they should stick by him.
He spoke of Sunderland saying that it will be a difficult game as they are performing really well. "They have a clear identity." Amorim expects the Black Cats to put United under the pump considering the amount of pressure MUFC will be under which is something that they will have to cope with.
Final Thoughts
It was all about the system in this part, no team news but I think it should be the same as last week.
Let's discuss this system thing.
It's not the system.
End of discussion.
It never has been. Sure it may have taken some time for the players and us fans as well to get used to it but after almost a year, we should've been seeing some improvements.
And to an extent, we have. Just as the manager said, there's been matches or instances in matches where we've seen the system working. The Arsenal game was the perfect example. That was arguably our best performance under him as we saw how well this 3-4-3 can work when everyone is on it, when everyone is putting in that effort all the time.
Again, I'm going to have to agree with the manager because we know that we have players who can turn up one week and not the next. This has been going on for far too long. This is why he is saying this and it's because of this lack of effort at times or drops in concentration that we look worse than we are.
United may not be a great side but I certainly don't believe we are as bad as 14th. Should we take those chances that we miss, make the right decisions in the final third and keep our concentration, we'll start to see a team perform much better and a system that works.
Where I will go against the manager is that he is picking players who aren't good enough and who've been part of the reason as to why previous managers were sacked as they relied on them as well. He doesn't need to pick the likes of Shaw, Maguire, Dalot and Bruno. You could say that if they were dropped and others came in, we might start to see more consistent performances and fewer mistakes. Maybe we'll see a team play a style that is closer to what Amorim wants.
But relying on those same few is why it could lead to his sacking.
Another issue of his is not just who he is picking but in which position. You know who I'm talking about but it's not just Bruno in midfield but also Maguire as the last man, Shaw is unreliable as LCB and Dalot tries hard but is not the level we require.
It's because of this that I feel people look at the system as a problem. It was never a system problem but playing the wrong players in the wrong positions make it seem like a system problem.
Talking about Sunderland having an identity, that's what we need to have as well as even when we lose or draw or even if performances aren't amazing, we need to see who we are.
This goes back to selecting the right players, the ones who are more capable of playing your style.
My preview for tomorrow's match shows EXACTLY what team I would go with and how we should approach the game with that team.
Ruben Amorim believes it's not his system that is the problem with his team | Creator: Justin Setterfield | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2025 Getty Images via Goal