Ferdinand names four Man United stars who do not fit Amorim's tactical style

Rio Ferdinand has named four Manchester United stars who he believes do not fit in Ruben Amorim's system as he warned progress under the Portuguese had been much slower then expected.

Amorim has struggled in the Premier League since taking the job in November, the head coach earning just 18 points from his 16 games.

Arriving on the back of a wave of optimism following the departure of Erik ten Hag, armed with his much-vaunted 3-4-2-1 system, few United fans would have predicted their current plight.

The Red Devils beat Ipswich 3-2 on Wednesday night to cast aside the more exaggerated notions of being drawn into a relegation battle, but they are still languishing in 14th place.

It is clear that Amorim's is a project only in its infancy, and finding players that truly suit his particular formation will undoubtedly prove key, but club legend Ferdinand has picked out four current stars who he believes are wholly unsuited.

The former central defender, who won it all at Old Trafford, offered an honest assessment of the Amorim era so far after the victory over relegation-threatened Ipswich.

'I think if we're being brutally honest, there hasn't been the progress that we all anticipated,' Ferdinand said on TNT Sports.

'Where he came from, how successful he had been and the silverware he brought to Sporting, the anticipation of him coming was like, "Wow! What an opportunity we've got now with this young manager", and it hasn't transferred here.

'I think he needs to just get to the end of the season, really regroup and then start building again, building the team and coaching the team because right now they've been stuttering along and that's probably being polite.'

Amorim himself has spoken about the impact pre-season can have in terms of building a team and instilling his tactical plan, and of the need to spend time on the training ground.

As it stands, with United in the Europa League still, their preparations midweek are frequently disrupted, and he has underlined that this is hardly conducive to a tactical overhaul midseason.

For Ferdinand, though, there are certain players whose game is not aligned with the dynamic approach Amorim will look to adopt.

'I watched Sporting a few times, in Europe especially. They were an athletic, dynamic team. That was one of the staples of that team, the hallmarks of that good team that was winning things,' he explained.

'This team aren't a mobile, dynamic team. If you look through the heartbeat of this team they have other qualities but being physical, having the ability to overrun teams physically – they don't have that capacity.'

Part of Amorim's expected overhaul of the squad will involve determining which of his charges possess the required attributes to play his system.

But Ferdinand has highlighted at least four players who in his mind are lacking in the necessary 'physicality' to thrive in Amorim's new era at Old Trafford.

Asked whether Joshua Zirkzee was one of those who might fight the head coach's system, Ferdinand responded: 'No… De Ligt, Maguire, Hojlund, it's not their game.

'So I think he needs to find those type of players with the capabilities of carrying out not only tactically what he wants, but the physicality is equally important.'

The four players mentioned by Ferdinand were signed by United at a cost of £232million, although none by Amorim himself.

Both Maguire and De Ligt were on the scoresheet in United's 3-2 win over Ipswich on Wednesday evening.

United have 11 games left in the Premier League, and will be hoping to finish as high up the table as possible, though they will know their best route into Europe lies elsewhere.

As holders, they still have a chance to reach the Europa League with another FA Cup win, while triumphing in Europe's secondary competition would see them return to the Champions League.

The first steps on both of those paths will come against Fulham and Real Sociedad respectively in a huge week for Amorim's United.