Ruben Amorim has insisted he never spoke to Manchester City about becoming Pep Guardiola’s replacement as the Manchester United head coach prepares for his first derby game in charge.
The 39-year-old established himself as one of Europe’s finest up-and-coming coaches with his transformational work at the Portuguese champions Sporting. United quickly moved to appoint Amorim after sacking Erik ten Hag in late October when he had been linked to City amid uncertainty over Guardiola’s future.
The fact that Sporting’s director of football, Hugo Viana, is taking up that role at the Etihad Stadium next summer added an extra dimension, but Amorim insists the Old Trafford post was his only ambition. Asked if he ever had a conversation about the prospect of joining City at any point, Amorim said: “Never. Never had and this was my only option.”
“When Manchester United talked to me, I had no doubts because I had already something in my mind [that] it could be a possibility,” the 39-year-old said. “With Manchester City or Hugo Viana? Nothing about that.”
Guardiola ended speculation about his future shortly after Amorim arrived in Manchester, with the City manager signing an extension until 2027. The 53-year-old extended his stay during what is his worst run of results since taking over in 2016, with Wednesday’s 2-0 Champions League defeat at Juventus continuing that wobble.
The reigning Premier League champions have won just once in their last 10 matches in all competitions, with seven of those games ending in defeat. One of those losses was masterminded by Amorim, whose Sporting side secured a stunning 4-1 Champions League triumph as he waited to take the reins at United.
But for all the champions’ challenges, Amorim does not buy into the talk this could be a good time to face City. “I never think about these things,” he said. “We will face a great opponent and I’m more focused on our problems, so we have a lot of issues here. I’m more focused on what we should do on Sunday to win the game, so I’m really focused on my team.”
Asked if United are facing a different, weaker City, he replied: “No, no, no, no. The great teams can respond in any moment, and I think they are in a better place than us in the type of understanding the game, the way they play, the confidence they have. Even in these kind of moments.”
Instead the Portuguese coach is focused solely on his side’s performance levels after back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest left United in 13th place in the Premier League table. “We have a lot to focus on in our team. Of course we have a strategy to try to win the game, like it should be, but we are focused just on our team.”
“I’m really focused on the details,” said Amorim, whose United team are eight points behind City, who currently sit in fourth place. “I just want to improve the team, so I cannot live it like a normal derby like it should be, like two great teams fighting for the title. It is not that in this moment. So it is just one more game with a very good opponent.
“Both teams are struggling in the moment, so I hope in future I can feel that real feeling of a derby, but I know it’s really important for our fans. But my goal now is to improve the team, win games and I will try to win this game.”
Among the areas for improvement is the form of André Onana. The goalkeeper impressively overcame a shaky start to life at United last season, but he has wobbled recently and gave away the opening goal in Thursday night’s Europa League comeback win at Viktoria Plzen. Onana’s poor pass was cut out and led to Matej Vydra’s goal, before substitute Rasmus Højlund’s double sealed a 2-1 win.
“You have to take it like it is,” Amorim said of his first-choice goalkeeper’s form. “He had already in the past a situation like that, so we have to work on this. But we managed [on Thursday night], not like against Nottingham [Forest], to help Onana like he did in the past for us.”
