Amorim and De Ligt on Europa league clash with Sociedad

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Amorim and De Ligt on Europa league clash with Sociedad   05/03/2025  uefa europa League

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00:00Can you hear me? Hi Ruben. Obviously Chido Obi has not been able to travel, he wasn't

00:16included in the squad. What was the club's thinking behind making that decision at the

00:20time?

00:21It's a different context. In that moment, Rasmus and Josh were playing in the same position,

00:29so we tried to manage all the things, even the expectations of the kids. So the context

00:35was completely different and we chose the different players.

00:38Jack Fletcher was added to the squad. Why hasn't he travelled out here?

00:43He didn't train with us and he had a game before Fulham. Amas is here today. In the

00:55last game against Fulham, we wanted Amas also, but because he played all the game against

01:00Arsenal, he was not in our squad. We tried to manage all the teams there and tried to

01:06imagine the substitutions. We know to bring some players is a big step and we are taking

01:13care of the expectations of the kids.

01:16Hi Ruben. It is quite a small squad and a relatively inexperienced squad in some parts.

01:23How much of a challenge is that for you, given how important the game is?

01:27We have a lot of experience. Mate is a young player, but he has a lot of experience. We

01:32are ready because the good thing to play in the Premier League is we are ready for everything.

01:36So it's a big challenge. We are going to face a very good team, really intense, with a lot

01:43of experience, international players. But we are ready because we face those teams every

01:49weekend.

01:51Hi Ruben. Can I just ask about the two injured players, Harry Maguire and Manuel Gatte? Are

01:56they long problems?

01:58Small things. We are being careful because in this moment we cannot allow us to lose

02:05more players for a long time. We are taking care of them in Carrington and they cannot

02:13play this game because it will be a great risk.

02:18Hi Ruben. I think you said in your Sky interview yesterday or whenever you did it that you

02:25are building something bigger here than just winning a cup this season. But surely the

02:29here and now, this competition, is vital for the future of the club, not least in terms

02:34of the financial aspect of it. It is worth up to maybe £100m for the club if you go

02:39all the way and win this competition and get a Champions League place, but also in terms

02:42of attracting the very best players next season. So in that context, do you understand

02:47or accept that it is so important for the club to win this competition?

02:51That is clear. I think it is not the crucial thing for the future of the club. That is

02:56my view. I am here for three months and I think that is clear but I understand. It is

03:02a massive difference in our season. Especially because we are out of the Cups, in the bad

03:08position in the league, that could change a lot of things, even the way they see the

03:12coach. So I know that is a massive pressure but I will say it again. Manchester United

03:18can have that, can call all the best players even without a Champions League in the future.

03:25We have to change a lot of things and we are trying to do that. So I think there are more

03:29important things than winning Cups in this moment. That is my feeling. But I understand

03:33that winning the Europa League can change everything for us in the next season.

03:39Was there any temptation to bring some of the academy players with you just in case

03:45you might need them in a match like this or you just don't think they are ready for this kind of a game?

03:49Again, when I put the squad I see the players that I have that train with us and then I

03:55imagine the substitutions. That is why sometimes I call it one or two. Then I am trying to

04:01see if they train with us. Then I try to see if they come here to play or to be on the

04:06bench for you guys to be seeing a lot of youth. I am trying to manage everything. I know that

04:12is a big step for them and I am trying to cope with everything. So when I do my squad

04:18I try to think in every aspect of the formation of a kid, our squad and not what is going

04:26to look like really well with the fans and the media.

04:32Hi Ruben. I just wonder for the likes of Josh, Rasmus and Alejandro, what needs to happen

04:38either for them or the team to really unlock them in terms of that goal scoring and to

04:43get them in better opportunities?

04:46Sometimes there are things that are hard to explain. For example, before the last match

04:53we had some games without opportunities and create chances and that is impossible for

04:58them to score. So it is a team thing. But I felt like in the last game sometimes it

05:03is luck. The way we kicked the ball a little bit more inside. We had opportunities to score.

05:09We didn't score. Sometimes that is it. One thing is to create situations. We created

05:15in the last game. But in certain moments we need a little bit of luck to score one and

05:20then when you score one you take out the big pressure and you score two or three in the

05:25next games.

05:27How are you settling into life in Manchester? How do you compare the scrutiny and the pressure

05:33on the club and yourself compared to clubs you have been at like Bayern Munich and Real

05:37Madrid?

05:38I think I am settling in really well. I have been here now six or seven months or so. I

05:46think we have a really nice team and a really nice group. Obviously the season until now

05:50is not what we expected. With that comes a lot of pressure, a lot of criticism. What

05:58is normal in football I think. For me it is not different because I have been in clubs

06:04where you have to win the title every year. That is not something different than before.

06:09But obviously being in the place where we are in the Premier League is quite different.

06:18You have to keep going, you have to work hard and as a team improve and hopefully the

06:22results will come.

06:23You have come in at a time where it has probably been the most turbulent season the club have

06:34had in the Premier League era. Has it been a bit of a shock to the system for you at

06:41times having to cope with what the team has been through?

06:45I wouldn't call it a shock. What I said obviously you would have expected a little bit better

06:50the way it is at the moment. It is the Premier League where you are playing. You can't be

06:58at 99 per cent of the day because then you lose games against the teams that are in the

07:02Premier League. Obviously until this season in a lot of games we haven't been good enough.

07:09We know that. We try to improve as a team, try to improve as an individual. That is really

07:13important I think. Then in the end it has also sometimes a little bit to do with luck

07:19also I think. But we all know that we have to improve to become better. I am now talking

07:26about the Premier League but I think tomorrow is another chance to show our worth in a European

07:31competition. Until now we haven't lost a game so hopefully we can keep it that way and get

07:36a good result.

07:38Hi Matisse, just on that same topic. After Sunday this looks like your best chance of

07:44being back in Europe next season. How important is that for the players to have European football?

07:50Obviously that is the consequence if you win the tournament. That is what you refer to.

07:57I think you go to the Champions League but I think that is not our main goal at the moment.

08:01Our main goal is to win the game tomorrow, to get a good result. Watching it step by

08:06step, game after game. The Europa League is not a tournament where you can win without

08:13effort. We know we have to fight tomorrow, to put everything on the line to win the game

08:18and that is our first concern for tomorrow. We will be ready and hopefully get a good

08:23result tomorrow.

08:25In talking about the club's longer term goals these past few days, you've twice mentioned

08:33that you might not be part of it. Do you still have the self-belief that you can see this

08:38job through and turn the club around in the way that you hope?

08:43What I mean is that we have to think as a club, as a long project and not just solve

08:48things in this moment. If we win the cup we are in a bad position. If we win the Europa

08:54League we will be in an amazing position in the next year because the problems continue

08:59here even with the Champions League. That is what I want to say. I know you guys make

09:08counts of my reseason. I am just trying to show that I don't care. I am really confident

09:17in the big goal of this club. I am trying to show the big picture to our supporters.

09:24Are you confident in yourself that you can be the man to turn this around?

09:27That is clear. I know what to do but sometimes this is the result. It is a life of results

09:33and you have to win games. I know the consequences when you don't win games but I am really confident.

09:39Since day one I was a bit more frustrated but I am still confident.

09:47Even with results going the way they have been, are you still keeping the faith with

09:53your system? You have kept that all the way through. You have not changed it up. You have

09:57stuck with your philosophy, your way of football. Are you happy to stick with that and do you

10:01feel that the players are becoming accustomed to it now?

10:03It is quite simple. We talk about the system. I think the system is not the problem. It

10:09is the way of playing. You can build up with three with two defenders and one midfielder

10:14going down. It is quite simple. I don't see football like that. The problem of our team

10:20is not the system. We have a lot of problems. We are trying to work on these problems. Of

10:26course every system needs different characteristics. I was always really clear and I have one idea.

10:36I am still really confident because I have an idea how to play football. I will not change

10:42that no matter what. I will not change that. I am not talking about the system. It is the

10:46way I see football. I will not change that. We are going to do it or not. We will see.

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