Ruben Amorim plans brutal pre-season with Man Utd flops quizzed on holidays and told to hit personal bests or face axe
RUBEN AMORIM is ready to get tough with his Manchester United flops as he chases a flying start next season.
The Red Devils boss wants to take a hardline pre-season approach in his quest to turn his 'chokers' into Champions League material, with jobs — including his own — on the line.
4
4
And the Portuguese is determined that a lack of fitness will not be an excuse for his squad, in the wake of a disastrous campaign last time out — the club's worst since the relegation season of 1973-74.
SunSport understands Amorim has delivered a list of instructions to ensure United are in top shape for the new Prem season, which starts on the weekend of August 16.
It is believed non-international players could return to the club's Carrington HQ earlier than normal, with a suggestion some may be back training by the end of THIS month.
Amorim wants fitness levels to be sky high, demanding that players hit personal bests by mid-July.
And if they fail to achieve those targets then they face being sidelined from his United revolution.
Boss Amorim has also told his squad they need to be fitter than ever because he wants them to be all over their opponents 'like white on rice' from day one next season.
It is understood Amorim has even quizzed his players on where they are going on holiday as he looks to shake up his failing squad and leave nothing to chance.
United finished 15th in the Prem and also lost in the Europa League final to Tottenham — meaning there will be no European football at Old Trafford next season.
Amorim — who initially did not want to join United from Sporting last November as he feared mid- season turbulence — needs an upturn in results and performance quickly, so he is focusing on an intense pre-season programme to get his men up to speed from the kick-off.
He is also keen to capitalise on rivals Manchester City and Chelsea having a disrupted start to the new Prem season should they go deep into the revamped Club World Cup this summer, with the final on July 13.
Ruben Amorim vows 'good days are coming' after 'disaster season' as Man Utd flops give him daggers during public apology
A club source said: 'Amorim needs a good pre-season. He's not shied away from the pressure he's under.
'He would have always preferred to have arrived at United ahead of a new season rather than in the middle of it.
'He has to get this right. He's told the players there are no more excuses. His job is on the line — and so too is theirs.
'The club can't accept any more failures.'
Amorim is well aware of the pressure building and the scrutiny on his own position, never mind his players.
His side suffered an embarrassing 1-0 loss to the ASEAN All-Stars before a 3-1 win over Hong Kong on their two-game post-season tour to Asia.
Amorim slammed his players after the first game as "chokers" after they were booed off by Far East fans.
4
Following the second game on Friday, Amorim was asked if he had a summer message for his players — and hinted he feared for the condition of his stars during their time away from the club.
He replied: 'I was a player and you can disconnect. They know that we under-performed badly this season.
'The important thing for me is the body composition, the weight and the training — they need to be ready.
'We have to use every minute in every week of the pre-season. So we need to arrive in shape.
'These small things, they have all the measures. We had a briefing about that. It's the only way to take action to be better next season.
'They know, everyone knows that the next year is going to be massive for everybody.
'I have been sending messages every week and they know next year, it is clear that we need to be so much better.'
United face a big summer of transfer activity.
4
Christian Eriksen, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans have all left on free transfers, while the future of captain Bruno Fernandes hangs in the balance.
Amorim is closing in on a £62.5million deal for Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, while he has lined up Sporting's Pedro Goncalves as a potential replacement for Fernandes if he takes the £100m offer from Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
Argentine winger Alejandro Garnacho is not in Amorim's plans next season and is free to leave.
United begin their preparations with a friendly against Prem new boys Leeds in Stockholm on July 19.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
9 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Barcelona chief Deco drops hint on when Man Utd can expect Marcus Rashford bid
Marcus Rashford's agent was recently spotted in Barcelona for transfer talks but the Manchester United star will have to be patient if he wants to get his dream move Barcelona sporting director Deco says that his club will focus on the futures of their own players before making moves for targets such as Marcus Rashford. Barca are in the process of tying down a number of key players, with Raphinha and Lamine Yamal recently putting pen to paper on new deals. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny also has an offer on the table while Barcelona are in negotiations with defenders Inigo Martinez and Eric Garcia to secure their long-term futures. But they still expect to make 'two, three or four signings', Deco has confirmed. One of those could be Rashford, whose agent and brother, Dwaine Maynard, was seen meeting with Deco in Catalunya last week. The England international has been put up for sale by Manchester United, who loaned him out to Aston Villa for the second half of the season. Villa negotiated the option to sign him permanently for £40million but they're now unlikely to trigger that clause. It leaves Rashford, who's set to lose his shirt number at United, searching for pastures new and Barcelona are understood to be his dream club. But the 27-year-old will have to be patient and hope that they pursue a move for him instead of Liverpool winger Luis Diaz, as Deco outlined Barca's priorities. "We have been focusing on renewing contracts, after that, we'll discuss players to come," the former midfielder told BBC Sport. "Of course, these two players, like you mentioned, they are good but have contracts in their clubs, so we won't speak because it's not fair. But when you decide to go to the market, for sure, we find some names. In my opinion, we don't need to bring many players. "When I speak with the agents of the players, everyone wants to come or stay. So this is important. The image of the club is still good. We are proud because Barcelona is still such a big club, and the way we are playing football makes players want to come." Should Barcelona sign Marcus Rashford? Have your say in the comments section. Deco also confirmed that Barca will 'not sell their best players', despite their precarious financial position. The newly-crowned La Liga champions dominated Spanish football in Hansi Flick's first season in charge and were minutes away from reaching the Champions League final. Flick described both Rashford and Diaz as a 'fantastic players' when asked about the attacking duo last month. "I don't want to talk about players who aren't part of my team, but they're both fantastic players and I like them," the German said. "We'll see what happens."
Western Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
UK manufacturing shrinks again but may be ‘turning a corner'
Factories saw the recent downturn linked to trade tensions, US tariffs and higher costs slow down during May but highlighted that confidence was still 'subdued'. The S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, watched closely by economists, showed a reading of 46.4 in May, up from 45.4 in April. Any reading above 50 indicates that activity is growing while any score below means it is contracting. The sector is, therefore, still contracting, but at a slower rate. It was a stronger performance than expected, with economists having predicted a reading of 45.1 for the month. Rob Dobson, director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: 'May PMI data indicate that UK manufacturing faces major challenges, including turbulent market conditions, trade uncertainties, low client confidence and rising tax-related wage costs. 'Downturns in output, new orders and new export business have continued, and business optimism has stayed subdued by the historical standards of the survey. 'There are some signs of manufacturing turning a corner, though. 'PMI indices tracking output and new orders have moved higher in each of the past two months, suggesting the downturn is easing, and came in better than the earlier flash estimates for May.' Firms saw factory production contract again as companies scaled back production due to a reduction in new work, both in the UK and from overseas clients. Total new business volumes also decreased further, although this was at a slower rate than the previous month. Weak global market conditions, trade uncertainty, low customer confidence and cost pressures linked to the recent rise in employer national insurance contributions were all linked to the continued decline. However, some firms indicated that warmer weather conditions helped support positive sales in May. The latest figures come amid continued uncertainty over US President Donald Trump's tariff plans, which continued to change in recent weeks. Mr Trump said a new 50% import tariff on steel and aluminium will come into force on Wednesday. The US agreed earlier this month that it will ultimately drop these tariffs from imports of these products from the UK, but firms in these sectors are now expected to face the 50% rate until the details on UK-US deal are confirmed.
BBC News
13 minutes ago
- BBC News
PM acknowledges need for clarity on winter fuel payment changes
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said "the sooner" his government provides clarity on changes to the winter fuel payment "the better".Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, he reiterated that ministers were reviewing which pensioners should receive the payment but added he wanted to be "absolutely clear where the money is coming from" before setting out the details. After coming to power in July last year, the Labour government announced it was withdrawing the annual payment - worth up to £300 - from more than 10 million last month Sir Keir said he would be partially reversing that decision, making changes to allow "more pensioners" to qualify again. The government is yet to spell out which pensioners will regain their entitlement to the money, although Treasury Minister Darren Jones has said millionaires should not be getting "subsidy for their energy bills" and that payments would be "targeted to those that need it the most". An announcement could come at the Budget in the autumn or even as early as next week when Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Spending Review. Asked if he still believed his government had been right to restrict winter fuel payments last summer, Sir Keir said he had inherited an economy that was "completely broken"."It was our duty to stabilise the economy and to fill in that £22bn black hole. I'm not going to resile from that."His U-turn came after pressure from some Labour MPs, who are also expressing concern about the two-child benefit cap and proposed cuts to disability on whether he would consider increasing taxes to raise more money, the prime minister said the UK's underlying problem in recent years had been "flat or anaemic growth"."I don't think you can tax yourself to growth - we have got high taxes as it is."Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have called for the winter fuel payments to be restored to all pensioners. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said "millionaire" pensioners should not be eligible. Previously, the winter fuel payment had been paid to all pensioners regardless of income or wealth. Households with a pensioner under 80 received an annual lump sum of £200, rising to £300 for pensioners over taking office, Labour restricted the payment to those pensioners who qualify for pension credit and other income-related benefits - a move which saved an estimated £ income threshold for pension credit, the main benefit to qualify to continue to receive winter fuel payments, is currently £11,800 a year for individuals and £18,023 for pensioner a new way of increasing the number of eligible pensioners is likely to be tricky for the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said creating a new means-test would create "hassle" for pensioners and result in many not claiming the think tank, the Resolution Foundation, has estimated that expanding the threshold pension credit by 10% could cost £2.5bn.
