Ruben Amorim has explained why he was forced to refuse Lisandro Martinez’s request ahead of Manchester United’s Premier League match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The Red Devils have defeated Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton so far and head to the East Midlands looking for a fourth successive league win. A victory at the City Ground would see Amorim’s men provisionally move up to second place in the standings.
In his pre-match press conference, Amorim answered questions about the squad’s fitness concerns, including Martinez’s current state, Forest’s transformation under Sean Dyche following the departure of Ange Postecoglou, and how United will cope without Amad Diallo and Brian Mbeumo during the African Cup of Nations. With this in mind, Express Sport has compiled the key highlights from the Portuguese manager’s discussion.
Martinez’s latest fitness update
Amorim revealed Martinez was keen to play against Nottingham Forest and reminded him of the chain of command. However, the Argentine will reportedly need to exercise patience before making a comeback.
Martinez returned to training with his United squad earlier this week, having been out since February after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Crystal Palace.
When asked about Martinez’s situation and the possibility of him featuring against Forest, Amorim said: “He wants to go here (Forest) but he won’t go here. He will need time.”
“He started training with us and slowly he will get better.
“It’s been really good. He’s brought that edge to every training session. That’s really good for us as well, and the rest of the players we have at some point. I don’t know about Harry Maguire, but the rest of the players are healthy.”
Three Forest players selected
Amorim has identified three Nottingham Forest players as key threats ahead of United’s visit to the City Ground. The head coach highlighted England players Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliott Anderson and Callum Hudson-Odoi as the main danger players.
The United boss also revealed that Dyche has been studying Forest closely since taking charge. The former Burnley and Everton manager has won one and lost one in his short spell in charge of Forest since being replaced by Ange Postecoglou earlier this month, including a Europa League win over Porto but a 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
“I watched the games against Porto and Bournemouth, and the style of play is similar, but the characteristics are different,” Amorim said. “I watched a non-preseason game with Sporting and I tried to understand how he played in that game. In the same way, he can change the characteristics of very good players with their talent, especially Gibbs-White, Anderson and Hudson-Odoi.”
“So we need to prepare for another game against Brighton. We had space to play, but that space is gone. We need to understand that we are not the same team away and at home, so we need to improve the way we control the environment. We need to play better away, because every tackle is an important moment for the opposition fans. We are ready for a very tough game.”
Amad and Mbeumo’s absence will be costly
Amad Diallo and Brian Mbeumo will be sidelined from December to January as they represent their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), but Amorim admitted the Reds will face difficulties in their absence.
The competition opens on Sunday 21st December, runs through the festive period and into the New Year, and concludes with the final on Sunday 18th January.
Amorim admitted that Amadou and Mbeumo would be absent from the squad in the future, saying: “We will have some time to suffer.” “We were going to struggle a little bit, but we already knew it was going to be an opportunity.
“Watching practice, we have players who should play, but they are also performing well during match practice, so it’s difficult to take some players out of the team for one game. So there will be opportunities for other players to help us.”
“They understand how we want to play, so if we’re improving on that, changing the characteristics won’t change the idea or the momentum of the team. But let’s use Amad and Brian in these games and we’ll see overall.”
