Amorim and Dorgu on Jim Ratcliffe comments and importance of Europa league ahead of Sociedad second leg
12/03/2025
Carrington Training Centre, Manchester, Uk
12/03/2025
Carrington Training Centre, Manchester, Uk
Category
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SportsTranscript
00:00Thanks. Thanks, everyone, to our press conference for our Europa League game against Real Sociedad tomorrow night.
00:10We have Ruben Amorim and Patrick Doggo. Please identify who your question is for. Let's start with Simon.
00:17Hi, Ruben. In terms of the squad tomorrow, we noticed Lenny Jara wasn't out there, so I'm guessing he's out.
00:26How's things looking? Mason Mount too soon?
00:28Mason Mount is too soon. Lenny's out. Harry Maguire cannot play this one, but I hope to have him for Sunday.
00:40Manu is on the squad and I think there is no one returning.
00:47Is Lenny a long-term thing?
00:49No, no, no. He's not a long-term, but he cannot play this game and the other game.
00:53The stadium plans were unveiled yesterday. What did you make of them when you saw them and the project this club has?
01:01It's an amazing stadium, like it should be, but it's in the future, five years from now.
01:11We have to focus on the present and I'm really excited to win things in Daltrefort. That is our focus.
01:19Ruben Salmonstone, BBC. Sir Jim Ratcliffe gave some interviews this week and he praised you personally,
01:28but then made some rather disparaging comments about some of your players being either not good enough or being overpaid.
01:38First of all, what's your reaction to what he said?
01:41And secondly, how do you go about dealing with that when there are such big comments to the players in the dressing room?
01:48I think if we're being honest, in this moment everybody, me, all the players, we are underperforming this season.
01:59So we can always change that, so I include myself in that part of underperforming.
02:07And you are talking about players like Casemiro, for example, that won everything.
02:13And we know that these kind of players can play so much better, so that is the focus.
02:19He was honest on that, so the focus is to change his mind and to change all the people's minds.
02:29Do you have confidence the players will have that attitude? They will have heard those comments as well.
02:34The likes of Casemiro, they will go out and try and prove the owner wrong?
02:38Yeah, I think it's the right way to do it.
02:41If you are a top player and you play in this club, even me, a lot of people say that I'm not good enough for the club.
02:49My feeling is that you can change that with results.
02:52So I think in training I feel that they want this really bad, and especially for tomorrow.
03:01Hi Ruben, another thing that Jim Ratcliffe was speaking about was his relationship with you.
03:07He said you quite often have quite frank conversations between yourselves.
03:12Can you just give us a bit more insight into that and what your working relationship is like with him?
03:17It's really good since day one. I think we are really blunt and honest with each other.
03:23It's a little bit of the character. We are quite similar to that.
03:27I always felt the support of the board, especially from Sir Jim.
03:33I cannot tell you the conversations, but they are simple conversations, clear conversations and honest conversations.
03:44Ruben, just on your own future, you are very honest and very candid and you have been in recent weeks.
03:50You say everything will always be governed by results, but the owner and the chief executive were incredibly supportive of you this week.
04:00Does that give you a lot of confidence that they view you as a vital part of this long-term project?
04:08I already knew that. All these conversations I already had in the past with them.
04:15After matches, they went to the dressing room and talked to me to explain this.
04:21To say it publicly is really good for the coach, but I continue to say the same thing.
04:27We need results and we need to improve the team.
04:31Since day one, I felt the support from everybody here.
04:37We will take one from Patrick.
04:41Hi, Patrick. What was it about Ruben Amer in his system and Manchester United that made you want to join?
04:49Obviously I saw Ruben in sporting before he came and I could already see the ideas he had.
04:56It's a very attacking system and I would like to get in the box and score goals and obviously also defend.
05:05On your first game you played on the right side for Manchester United,
05:08you've played on the right, you've played on the left.
05:10Which side do you personally prefer playing on?
05:13I don't have a preference. It's the boss that takes the decision and I'm comfortable playing on both sides.
05:21And then quickly, Ruben, to you as well.
05:24Sir Jim recently spoke and he said that Manchester United would have run out of money by December 2025.
05:30Based on results this year, clearly there's investment needed in the squad.
05:34Are you confident, with other top teams probably going to spend over 100 million,
05:38Arsenal have got their plans this summer, that you'll have the money to invest in your team to compete at the highest level?
05:45We have a clear plan to address next season.
05:49Of course we have the Europa League also and you can reach the Champions League, we never know.
05:56It's far from this moment but you never know, it can change the preparation for next season.
06:03So we have a plan, we know what to do, we know that we are in a difficult moment
06:08but the most important thing again is to have a plan and to know what to do and what kind of players you need to bring.
06:15Does it still involve potentially selling key players to get that money in?
06:20We'll see, in this moment we just focus especially on this competition,
06:26that can change everything, so let's focus on the game tomorrow.
06:32How have you found settling into English football
06:34and how frustrating was it to get that red card against Ipswich and the three-match ban that followed?
06:39It was obviously not nice to get the red card, but it's part of football and I just need to learn from this and improve my game.
06:49I've settled well into Manchester, the training is good and I'm going well with the team.
07:01Wing-back role seems very important in the Riven system,
07:04what kind of thing has he been saying to you once you've been in the team that he wants from you?
07:08He's talking about obviously the connection with the other players,
07:14the midfielders, the tents, it's more of the connection and a lot of deep runs and movement.
07:23You mentioned everything can change if you were to go all the way in the Europa League this season,
07:27I know that's not the immediate thought,
07:29but how important is this competition in terms of keeping your season alive,
07:33given the position you're in in the Premier League?
07:37In that context it's also important, it gives us more energy to continue the season,
07:45we know that it's not going to change a lot the idea for the next season,
07:53but it gives us more energy to finish the season in a different way,
07:58so tomorrow is going to be a really important game for us.
08:06Just going back on the comments that Jim Ratcliffe made about some of the players,
08:09did any of those players come to you and complain about it at all?
08:12No, nothing, I didn't feel anything, I really enjoyed the training today,
08:17so we are ready to face the game.