Akin Ayomide
Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United to “focus on the future” following former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo’s withering assessment of his old club.
United are looking to rebuild following a woeful 2024/25 season, which saw them finish a lowly 15th in the Premier League and lose in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo insisted this week United manager Amorim cannot do “miracles” at a club that is “not on a good path”, saying “they need to change and it’s not only about the coach and players”.
But when Ronaldo’s comments were put to his former Portugal team-mate ahead of this weekend’s trip to Spurs, the United boss said: “Of course he knows and he has a huge impact in everything he said.
“What we need to focus (on) is in the future. We know that we as a club made a lot of mistakes in the past, but we are trying to change that. So, let’s not focus on what happened. Let’s focus on what we are doing now, and we are doing that.”
Amorim said the changes being put in place were having positive results.
“We are changing a lot of things in the structure, the way we do things, the way we want the players to behave,” said the 40-year-old coach.
“We are doing that and we are improving, so let’s focus on the way we are doing things. We are improving, let’s continue and forget a little bit the past.”
United have lost their last four games against Spurs.
However, they head into Saturday’s match unbeaten in their last four Premier League matches, a sequence that includes a 2-1 win over champions and arch-rivals Liverpool.
Amorim, asked how United had changed since being beaten by Spurs in the Europa League final in May, replied: “First of all, the characteristics of the players. So, we are a better team, we play better, we understand the game better. I think we are more confident.
“We reached that final confident that we could win because we were doing well in Europe, but in this moment we play with a different confidence.
“We manage the moments of the game better. But if you remember that game, they have that shot on the goal, they won the game.
“So, I expect a different game, that we can play better, but also to have a little bit luck to help us to win the game.”