Ruben Amorim angrily defends defiant and forgotten Manchester United midfielder’s non-selection despite heavy criticism from former players such as Paul Scholes
Manchester United fans believe Ruben Amorim has a lot less leeway given he has won just eight of his 20 Premier League games at Old Trafford. And the jeers at home after the draw with struggling West Ham United were completely half-hearted.
But if there is one issue that threatens to undermine support for the underperforming United manager, it is his treatment of former England international Koby Mainou, who was named player of the match in the FA Cup final and was a starter in the European Championship final. And he’s only 20 years old.
Responding to Amorim’s suggestion that Mainu was being treated equally with the rest of the squad, Paul Scholes said on social media: “Fuck you. This kid is ruined by not letting him play for a team that can’t control the game of football. I hate to see a homegrown player leave but now is the best for him, enough is enough.”
read more: Paul Scholes attacks Manchester United manager Reuben Amorim for treating Koby Mainu as a ‘bull’read more: Gary Neville accuses Manchester United player bar of Bruno Fernandes’ EVERY
And it’s hard to find a United fan who would agree with the selection policy that has kept Mainu from starting a Premier League game this season. But no matter what players like Scholes say, it’s clear Amorim doesn’t care about public opinion, repeating that Mainu isn’t doing enough on the training ground to earn enough game time.
Amorim was furious, saying: “You always ask me the same thing. I understand what you’re saying. You love Coby. He starts for England. But that doesn’t mean you should have him in[the team]when I don’t think he should.”
Mainoo is one of the few players in United’s first-team squad who does not start a Premier League game. Mr Amorim was then asked if he understood why academy graduates were depressed about their current place in the pecking order.
The United manager replied: “I know that. I know that and I just want to win. I just put players in (the team), I don’t think about who they are.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m just trying to get the best players on the pitch. (Manuel) Ugarte played two games, one of which Case (Casemiro) missed. Bruno (Fernandes) is always in good form. He’s a guy who plays (Mainu’s) position well, so maybe that has something to do with it.”
Many pundits and fans will see this reaction as an example of Amorim’s tactical inflexibility, but the Portuguese manager may need to adapt if he loses Brian Mbeumo, Nouser Mazraoui and Amad Diallo for African Cup of Nations duties. So will it give Mainu a chance to rebuild himself?
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Amorim sighed. “It’s the same question. I don’t know what will happen. It depends on the situation. If I find out during training that it’s best, I’ll do it. That’s the only way I know how to answer it.”
After the disappointment of conceding a late equalizer to West Ham, Amorim travels to Wolves on Monday night to face a side who are yet to win in the Premier League this season. Rob Edwards’ side have only two points from 14 games.
However, Amorim warned: “Anything can happen and things will change. There has never been a team in the history of the Premier League that hasn’t won a single game.”
“It can happen in any game. So we have to try to improve, rest the players, work really hard and prepare for a tough game, because it’s always a tough game for us.”
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