Man Utd stars hit Amorim as he runs birthday gauntlet in training

MANCHESTER UNITED stars jokingly hit Ruben Amorim as he ran through a birthday gauntlet before training started today.

The Portuguese manager held his back at the end of the player-made tunnel as the squad honoured his 40th birthday.

Amorim's celebrated his milestone age with wife Maria Joao Diogo in Manchester on Monday after United's 1-0 win over Fulham.

And the celebrations continued at Carrington in front of cameras on Wednesday morning.

Amorim could be seen jokingly pulling and shoving fellow birthday boy Darren Fletcher before sprinting through a corridor of players.

The pair decided to run through the gauntlet together as the squad stood eagerly waiting to give them a wallop as they passed.

Fletcher, who turns 41 on Saturday, emerged first, before Amorim gestured as if he was holding his back from pain.

Club-captain Bruno Fernandes and Chelsea-linked Alejandro Garnacho stood at the start of the tunnel and could be slapping their hands in.

And fans joked that outcasts Marcus Rashford and Casemiro might have been tempted to give Amorim a firmer whack.

Rashford, whose training application has been questioned by Amorim, could be seen getting involved at the end of gauntlet.

Amorim joked that he already feels 10 years older after two months in Manchester after his side's late win at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

He said: "It's not 40...I'm 50! After two months at Manchester United, it's 50. It's a privilege to spend my 40th birthday here.

"It will be fantastic because we won. Then I will have dinner with my kids."

Rashford was pictured laughing with his team-mates during the rest of the session after Amorim's latest brutal post-match comments.

The former Sporting gaffer took a swipe at the home-grown England international by declaring that he'd rather pick his 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital over a player who underperforms in training.

Meanwhile, the gauntlet has become something of a tradition this season.

Amorim brought it in to celebrate players returning to training from injury, including the likes of Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro.

Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell said it is a positive sign for the squad. 

He told MUTV: "It's what you want from a group like this. A football season is very long and you spend a lot of time together.

"At some moments of the season, you see them more than your own family and that is certainly the case when you are working long hours at Carrington.

“If you can establish those relationships and those links, in the hard moments during the season, you can push each other.

"You can demand more, so I think he is looking forward to getting to know his players more."

The Red Devils travel to face Romanian outfit FCSB for their final league phase match in the Europa League on Thursday.