Revealed: Manchester United roll out real-time data to prevent injuries – and detect lazy runners
'If you don't train in the right way, I have footage to show you,' the United manager said. 'And I show you in front of everybody. So I'm always on top [of the players]. I will expect to be in one phase – that I don't need to do anything because they will push each other.
'But if you train bad one time, I will you show the image in the moment. I will not speak with you, I will just speak. I will show you everything.'
The same, of course, will apply on a matchday amid long-standing complaints from United fans in recent seasons that the team does not run or work hard enough.
It was certainly instructive to hear Amorim backing Bruno Fernandes for speaking out after the United captain claimed the team were guilty of being 'lazy' off the ball during Sunday's 2-2 draw with Everton in Atlanta.
Fernandes heads United's new six-strong leadership team comprising Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui and Tom Heaton and such observations are exactly what the manager wants from the group as they help to keep team-mates in line.
Amorim, of course, will trust what his own eyes tell him but when he talks about having the 'footage' to show his players he is referring to the new and enhanced real-time tracking data to which he now has access to support his judgments.
Anyone who saw United in action on their pre-season tour of the US over the previous fortnight may have spotted the STATSports' Apex 2.0 GPS performance tracker vests being worn by the players.
The latest technology provides the most detailed and up-to-date tracking information yet with the so-called 'real-time kinematics' providing Amorim and his staff with five million data points of 100 per cent accurate live data over a 90-minute period that they can use in the moment to better understand who is running hard – and who is not.
'You can make decisions on the players based on data you see in front of you, not waiting until after the session and downloading the data and saying 'I wish Mason Mount had run a little bit further or done a few more sprints, or actually he did too much today',' Paul McKernan, managing director of STATSports, explained.
United were using the Apex 2.0's portable beacons while in the US but they have invested in six to eight fixed beacons covering six training pitches at Carrington and four fixed beacons at Old Trafford – two at each end of the ground – that can be attached to floodlights for a once-only set-up. GPS data from the small device on the player's vests is constantly being sent to the beacons and then direct to an iPad where Amorim's coaching staff and analysts can assess it in real time.
Fernandes was spotted adjusting the devices for team-mates Luke Shaw and Matheus Cunha during one training session in Chicago and there is another potentially critical advantage to the technology – it can predict when players are at heightened risk of injury.
United had one of the highest incidences of injuries per 1,000 minutes among Premier League teams during Erik ten Hag's final full season in charge in 2023-24. A total of 1,620 days were lost to 45 separate injuries according to Premier Injuries, which was a significant factor in why Amorim adopted a generally cautious approach to player workloads last season after replacing the Dutchman in November. Injuries are part and parcel of top-level sport but the Apex 2.0 technology will provide Amorim and his team with live data when players are potentially entering red zones, where the risk of injury spikes, and enable them to make better decisions.
'In real time they can look at the dynamic stress load – it's a predictor of injury,' McKernan said. 'Injuries can happen, but we can predict when players are moving into that zone.
'Making that decision in real time is so much easier when you have accurate data in front of you versus waiting until someone strains a hamstring and you look at the data afterwards and say: 'If only we had known.' That's where we can really help with that.
'You can get a great understanding of the load that a player can take on and when they are starting to tail off, and that can be an indicator of what's happening. The biggest thing for any sports organisation is to have all their players available. We help with availability to play and having the least risk of injury as possible.'
Ed Leng, United's head of physical performance, expects the Apex 2.0 trackers to 'enhance real-time tracking capabilities helping us to better prepare, develop and protect our players'.
All told, Amorim should get a more-rounded picture in the moment of how hard his players are working through external and internal loads. 'The total distance [being covered] is interesting but it only tells you a very small part of the story,' McKernan added. 'You might want to be looking at dynamic stress load in terms of accelerations, decelerations, high-speed runs and combine all that together to give you a real score as to how somebody is performing.
'You think of the likes of Kobbie Mainoo pressing and then having to make a hard run back. We break the categories down, first of all internal and external [loads] and then you look at the distance and volume metrics as well.'
In other words, there is no hiding place for players, just as Amorim will hope to be able to protect them from injury better this season.
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