Sean Dyche speaks ahead of Nottingham Forest’s Premier League clash with Manchester United on Saturday, with the Forest manager seeking to clarify his comments about Ruben Amorim.
Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has clarified his previous comments about Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United. Dyche, who previously managed both Everton and Burnley, took over from former Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou at the City Ground on October 21.
The club have struggled under the Australian’s leadership, failing to win in eight games before being handed the job by owner Evangelos Marinakis just 17 minutes into a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea earlier this month. To date, Dyche has only managed two games as Forest manager: the Europa League victory over Porto and last weekend’s defeat at Bournemouth.
He is currently preparing to oversee the East Midlands club’s first home Premier League match against United this Saturday, kicking off at 3pm. This weekend’s match revealed Dyche’s previous comments about Amorim’s tactics at Old Trafford.
read more: Ruben Amorim responds to Sean Dyche over cruel Manchester United comments: ‘Maybe it’s true’read more: Ruben Amorim names three players to replace Lisandro Martinez as Manchester United manager
Appearing on the Stick to Football Podcast in May, Dyche suggested he would have been more successful than the Portuguese had he been chosen to replace Erik ten Hag last November.
“He’s not going to change the way he plays. He (Ruben Amorim) better win some games. He’ll win them pretty quickly,” Deish said. “I think we can win more if we go there and play the way we play. Just 4-4-2 and give them the basic principles.
“We all say ‘fair play’ but he’s been there for a while now so it’s time he starts bringing wins.”
The 54-year-old set the record straight in Thursday’s pre-match press conference, claiming his comments had been skewed completely out of proportion.
“I never doubted him as a person and I never would. Clickbait kills anything,” he said. “I also asked the managers to give him time and I said he should be given half a season to continue doing what he’s doing.
“I have the utmost respect for all managers and I am sure his media department has made that clear to him.
“My suggestion is that the basics might have worked better, and they changed their style, so fair play to him. Not necessarily their beliefs, but their style.”
“They’re playing faster and longer and it’s a little tougher to get back into shape. That’s the management, that’s the coaching.”
“It doesn’t mean he’s changed his whole philosophy. He’s adapted to what’s in front of him, so fair play to him. He’s shown a little bit of flexibility and it’s paying off.”
Meanwhile, Amorim revealed that he understands why Dishu targeted the United team in the first place.
“First of all, if we play 4-4-2 that’s probably true,” he smiled at Thursday’s pre-match press conference. “We won more games, but I’ve always said I have my own way of playing and it’s going to take a while but it’s going to get better in the future. So, we don’t know. Then I can look at Sean Dyche as a manager and as a pundit.”
“If you’re a pundit and you don’t have very strong things to say, I don’t want to watch you! Neither do I. So I understand it’s a totally different job. I know Sean Dyche is really smart and knows how to play the game.”
“And he also understands that it’s one thing when we watch the game and talk about the game and one thing when we coach the team. So he understands that. There’s nothing to say. He just wants to win the next game.”
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