New Man Utd boss Amorim told non-negotiable ahead of opening game in charge

Ruben Amorim's immediate goal is to give Manchester United an identity back – with any trophy in his debut season a bonus.

Former United striker Louis Saha reckons Amorim – whose first game in charge is away at Ipswich on Sunday – can win silverware in his first season at Old Trafford. But Saha said the Portuguese head coach's principal aim will be to get United playing with greater fluency and give them a greater attacking threat, before thinking about winning anything.

“In recent years, Manchester United have continued to show that they’re capable of reaching finals and I still believe that this squad is good enough and capable enough of doing it again,” said Saha.

“Winning the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League is going to be an aim for Ruben Amorim, but getting United to play consistently well will be as good as a trophy.

“If Ruben can do this by implementing an identity, then that will build the foundation for this team to win the type of trophies that we want, which is the Premier League title. We want it back and any other trophy Amorim can win in the meantime is a bonus.

“The main target for the manager is to create that momentum, that belief and that spirit. We saw all of those things in his Sporting Lisbon team.”

Despite being down in 13th place in the Premier League, United remain in the hunt for a Champions League spot, with Amorim's side just four points off fourth spot. Against that backdrop, Saha said it was still possible for Amorim to turn United's season around and make it a successful debut campaign for him.

“It’s still very early on in the season and even though United have started poorly, they’re still only four points off third and fourth place,” Saha told Betfred.

“So we need to remain there and put the other teams fighting for those places under pressure. We need to continue using the momentum that Ruud van Nistelrooy has created and hopefully Ruben can take them to another level.

“This season’s been tough for a lot of teams, including Manchester City, and I’m convinced that most teams are going to have periods when they struggle, even Liverpool, because it’s the Premier League.

“Teams like Chelsea who have a lot of good players struggle because that X-factor is missing. I believe United can still do damage with the squad that they have, but they need to prove it week-in, week-out.

“Sporting Lisbon were very dangerous in transition under Amorim, and were tactically flexible enough to make tweaks to make them stronger against teams, regardless of whether they were against sides that like to have a lot of possession and teams that don’t. United now have a manager that plays with a defined system and can provide adaptability during games.”

*The full interview with Louis Saha can be found here