Ruben Amorim rejects Sean Dyche criticism of his Man Utd tactics

By Simon Peach, PA Chief Football Writer

Ruben Amorim has laughed off Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche’s claim that he would have won more matches as Manchester United manager as the pair prepare to go head-to-head.

Saturday’s Premier League trip to the City Ground comes on the first anniversary of the Portuguese’s appointment as Erik ten Hag’s successor.

Amorim was unable to oversee an immediate upturn as United stumbled home 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final, leading to criticism by all and sundry.

I always said that I have a way of playing that is going to take a while and then in the future it's going to be better

Dyche was among those to remark about the Portuguese’s set-up, saying in May that he would win more matches if he was in charge simply by playing a 4-4-2 formation.

Amorim shrugged off those remarks ahead of facing the recently appointed Forest boss, saying: “First of all, maybe it’s true if we play 4-4-2 we won more games.

“But I always said that I have a way of playing that is going to take a while and then in the future it’s going to be better, so we don’t know that.

“Then I can look at Sean Dyche as a manager and then as a pundit. If you are a pundit and you don’t say very strong things, I don’t want to watch you! I’m the same.

“So, I can understand that it’s a completely different job and I know that Sean Dyche is really smart, and he knows how to play the game.

“He also understands that one thing is when we are seeing the game and talking about the game. The other thing is to coach a team, so I understand that, I have nothing to say. I just want to win the next one.”

United head to the City Ground on the back of three straight wins as things finally start to look up for Amorim after a topsy-turvy start to life at the helm.

“It was a journey,” he said with a laugh. “It was a big journey. It was tough, it was really tough. Good moments and bad moments.

“I learned a lot and that is really important. I found out that even in my lower moments I can stick with the things that I believe and that is a good thing for anyone to understand.

“Today the answer is different from three weeks ago, so it’s important to understand that.

“It’s one of the biggest honours of my life to be here and I want to continue here for many years.”

United have had a full week to prepare for the trip to Forest, which saw defender Lisandro Martinez train with the group on Wednesday for the first time since sustaining an ACL injury in February.

It’s one of the biggest honours of my life to be here and I want to continue here for many years

“He wants to go to this one, he is not going to this one, he is going to take time,” Amorim said.

“He started training with us, but we had to change some things in the exercise for him, so slowly he is going to get better.

“It’s really good and he gives us that edge in every training session. That is also really good for us.

“The rest of the guys, we have one more day. I don’t know about Harry Maguire. I think the rest is fit.”