Harry Maguire admits Ruben Amorim's job is much more difficult as he is “the complete opposite” of Erik ten Hag, but has backed the Manchester United boss to turn around their dismal season.
Amorim has been beaten in half of his 10 games since being appointed as head coach and heading into Monday's league game against Newcastle, he is alive and kicking. Sky Sportsafter losing three in a row across all competitions.
The Portuguese have got a squad built by Ten Hag to play transitional, counter-attacking football, making them ill-suited to his philosophy, which emphasizes possession and uses a line high
Amorim also has the added problem of preferring to play with three at the back, but Maguire believes he has what it takes to overcome his difficult start and the club, who are 14th now, to lead up the table.
“It's about the managers and the styles, it's not like they've come in and they've got similar styles,” Maguire told Sky Sports. “They're completely opposite in terms of what they want and what they want.
“So the transition period is going to be tough. We all have great faith in the manager and his coaching staff. I'm sure things are going to turn around. He knows exactly what he needs to do to get this club back.
“He's come in and done everything he needs to do. He's in high demand.”
United are closer in points to the relegation zone than the Champions League places when they visit Newcastle, their last game of 2024, after losing 2-0 to Wolves.
Amorim, who will be without captain Bruno Fernandes after picking up a red card, has already been asked about the possibility of being sacked less than two months into the job.
Asked if Amorim is frustrated by the poor results, Maguire said: “He's a winner, so I'm sure he will be because he hates losing games.
“It's difficult. We want to win football games and make our fans happy because so far this season it hasn't been good enough.”
United need a good result to ease the pressure on their new head coach and lift the mood at Old Trafford, but face a resurgent Newcastle before they take on league leaders Liverpool a week later, a game others live on. Sky Sports.
Maguire says there have been no discussions about targets within the dressing room because of the difficult situation they are in.
He said: “We're just doing everything we can to climb the table. We can't set a target at the moment because we're nowhere near good enough and we're nowhere near where we want to be in the league table.
“It's a big disappointment what we've done so far. Everyone knows that. We know it's not good enough for this club.”